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眼中钉

yǎn zhōng dīngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
a thorn in one's side
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-9006dd646d215c03. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

眼中釘 眼中钉 [yan3 zhong1 ding1] /a thorn in one's side/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 眼中釘

  • 眼
    yǎn

    eye (CL:隻|只[zhī],雙|双[shuāng]) / (often used with 一[yī]) a look / a glance / small hole / (bound form) salient point / classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc

  • 中
    zhōng

    within / among / in / middle / center / while (doing sth) / during / (dialect) OK / all right

    zhòng

    to hit (a target) / to be struck by (a bullet, illness etc) / to win (a prize or lottery)

    Zhōng

    (bound form) China / Chinese / surname Zhong

  • 钉
    dīng

    nail / to follow closely / to keep at sb (to do sth)

    dìng

    to join things together by fixing them in place at one or more points / to nail / to pin / to staple / to sew on

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.