钻牛角 zuān niú jiǎo

overthink; obsess over a small problem

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. honing a bull's horn; fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem
  2. 2. to bash one's head against a brick wall
  3. 3. a wild goose chase
  4. 4. a blind alley
  5. 5. to split hairs
  6. 6. same as idiom 钻牛角尖zuān niú jiǎo jiān

Characters

Character Meaning
钻 zuān HSK 6
to drill; to get into; to thread one's way through
牛 niú HSK 2
cow; ox; bull
角 jiǎo HSK 3
corner; angle