抽絲剝繭 chōu sī bāo jiǎn

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. to spin silk from cocoons
  2. fig. to make a painstaking investigation (idiom)

CHARACTERS

抽 chōu
HSK 4
draw out, pull out; sprout
絲 sī silk; fine thread; wire; strings
剝 bāo peel, peel off, to shell, strip
繭 jiǎn cocoon; callus, blister