剖腹藏珠 pōu fù cáng zhū

fig. wasting a lot of effort on trivialities

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. wasting a lot of effort on trivialities
  2. 2. lit. cutting one's stomach to hide a pearl (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
剖 pōu HSK 6
to cut open; to analyze; Taiwan pr. pǒu
腹 fù HSK 6
stomach; abdomen; belly
藏 cáng HSK 5
to hide away; to conceal; to store
珠 zhū HSK 6
pearl; bead