# 钻(鑽)牛角尖



## reginaregina

钻牛角用英语怎么说呢 谢谢

Moderator's Note: Several threads have been merged to create this one.


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## KevinXu

inflexible?


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## xiaolijie

= to split hairs (=to make unnecessarily fine or petty distinctions)


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## BODYholic

reginaregina said:


> 钻牛角用英语怎么说呢 谢谢



1. It is also commonly know as "钻牛角*尖*".

2. It's dead end at the tip of "牛角尖". If one insists on moving to  that direction, he is *stubborn *and *narrow-minded*.


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## lanlin

我一般会这样说 you are so bitch


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## samanthalee

One aspect of 钻牛角 is to be "stubborn" and "narrow-minded" and "splitting hairs", as *xiaolijie* and *BODYholic* had mentioned. Another aspect of it is to "think too much and get into a mental loop of anxiety and depression". I don't think there is an English term that includes all of its meaning.


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## Loafaway

Hi, 大家好：

When we describe a person who views things in a very narrow framework:

「他就愛鑽牛角尖。」

“He is so narrow-minded.”
“He is such a paranoid.”

I don’t think I have ‘nailed down’ what I mean to say about such a person. What are those more idiomatic (perhaps more lively) expressions?

Thanks for any comment.

Atom (the indivisible) 2013-09-22


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## SuperXW

I don't think the two sentences fit well. They could mean different things.
I would use "He is so persistent" but let's wait for other's suggestions.


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## Loafaway

We believe that "鑽牛角尖" is in general negative.


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## xiaolijie

> 「他就愛鑽牛角尖。」


What about "He just likes splitting hairs/ "He's just splitting hairs" ?


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## Loafaway

Hi xiaolijie,
I believe your expressions may be applicable for a lighter situation. Here I’d try to be a bit more specific. In our language, if a person is said (not jokingly) to be “愛鑽牛角尖” he is a moody/morose guy.
Atom (same day)


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## Ghabi

Hi! It really depends on the context. For example, when you got dumped by your girlfriend and mope all day, your friend may say: 別自己一個人在鑽牛角尖了,這又不是世界末日 "Just stop your navel-gazing! It's not like the end of the world or something."

It can be also be a positive word given the right context, of course.


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## Loafaway

Hi Ghabi,
Yes, it depends on the context. Although the phrase “navel-gazing” is somewhat ‘funny’ for a ‘gloomy’ situation, I may use it for a similar one. (That kind of action would remind me of a giant panda.) Still, I don’t think “鑽牛角尖” can be used in a positive way. I myself for sure would not use this phrase for any one who I’m proud of. Of course, the origin of this 'wacky' expression can have a very different meaning from the present-day use.
Atom (same day)


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## Skatinginbc

to pick at the scab: to pick at the memories of an unwanted experience or any undesirable present condition (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=to pick at the scab).  For instance, she kept _picking at the scab_ of his forgetting her birthday until they finally broke up.


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## xiaolijie

Loafaway said:


> Hi Ghabi,
> Yes, it depends on the context.


That is right, so what you need to do is to give us the context you've got in mind (As you've seen, "_When we describe a person who views things in a very narrow framework_" is not specific enough for us to give you what you want).
Tell us the situation you'd say 「他就愛鑽牛角尖。」You can create a dialog with this sentence being part of it, if you like.


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## Loafaway

Hi xiaolijie,
Well, say, a once successful trader, who had lost big in the financial crisis, not being able to get back on his feet since, his friends trying to encourage him in some way in order to get him out of his gloominess. One of his buddies might say about him to another one like「他就愛鑽牛角尖。」
Atom (same day)


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## BODYholic

Loafaway said:


> Hi, 大家好：
> 
> When we describe a person who views things in a very narrow framework:
> 
> 「他就愛鑽牛角尖。」
> 
> “He is so narrow-minded.”
> “He is such a paranoid.”
> 
> I don’t think I have ‘nailed down’ what I mean to say about such a person. What are those more idiomatic (perhaps more lively) expressions?
> 
> Thanks for any comment.
> 
> Atom (the indivisible) 2013-09-22





Loafaway said:


> Hi xiaolijie,
> Well, say, a once successful trader, who had lost big in the financial crisis, not being able to get back on his feet since, his friends trying to encourage him in some way in order to get him out of his gloominess. One of his buddies might say about him to another one like「他就愛鑽牛角尖。」
> Atom (same day)



We usually used 钻牛角尖 to refer to people who are stubborn/obstinate. That's the primary meaning. In a lesser magnitude, the proverb also means one who is shallow, narrow minded or short-sighted.

In your opening example, I thought "narrow minded" or "short-sighted" were translated quite aptly. However, in your second context, I mean you have a story there but it says nothing about how the person deems to be "愛鑽牛角尖". 

Lastly, I hope you know there are two sides to a 牛角 - the pointed end which is a dead end and the base (sorry, i do not know the technical term) which is an opening. Imagine if you're an insert inside the 牛角, you can never get out of it if you keep 钻ing the 牛角尖.


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## zhg

If I were to translate 钻牛角尖，I would do it word by word, with sufficient explanations of what it means in Chinese. Though I find Bodyholic's attempts are pretty good, I still couldn't immediately relate a "short-sighted","narrow-minded" person to the Chinese proverb, stripped of the metaphor.

To me the essence of idiom is that it's no use for someone stubbornly spending a great deal of time and energy in doing something that doesn't seem to yield any useful results, because in the eyes of others what he's doing is destined to meet the dead end( 牛角尖).


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## Skatinginbc

He fixates himself into a blind alley.


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## Ghabi

Loafaway said:


> Still, I don’t think “鑽牛角尖” can be used in a positive way. I myself for sure would not use this phrase for any one who I’m proud of.


The expression seems to be rather versatile. On one hand, it's about unnecessary/superfluous thinking. Say, when a kid keeps asking about why 1+1=2 in his math class (which is of course no trivial matter for a mathematician) his teacher may chide him: 你就是愛牛角鑽尖! In this case "split hairs" works well.

But on a positive note (because we're supposed to give a kid a pat on the shoulder whatever he does nowadays ... I hope I were born earlier!), we can praise him: 這孩子肯下死功夫,肯鑽牛角尖,將來必定有大成就! In this case "persistent/persevering/indefatigable" may work.

On the other hand, it's also about undesirable (even suicidal) thinking. If we want to describe a guy who's always absorbed in negative thoughts, we may say he's always "brooding" or something similar (I chose "navel-gazing" above because it conjures up a picture like the Chinese expression does, but there are of course many other choices).


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## miltonese

If someone said a person 钻牛角尖, I would understand it as that person likes taking chance of low possibility.

So I would feel more comfortable to use the words:  opportunist >> (disapproving) : someone who tries to get an advantage or something valuable from a situation without thinking about what is fair or right 

他在学习上就爱钻牛角尖 : he's a opportunistic student


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## Lamb67

Wriggle though a hole in the tip of the horn


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## SuperXW

miltonese said:


> 他在学习上就爱钻牛角尖 : he's a opportunistic student


这完全不是那个意思了吧？？


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