剖腹藏珠 pōu fù cáng zhū

DEFINITIONS

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

CHARACTERS

剖 pōu
HSK 6
split in two, slice; dissect
腹 fù
HSK 6
stomach, belly, abdomen; inside
藏 cáng
HSK 5
hide, conceal; hoard, store up
珠 zhū
HSK 6
precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl