diu1 zyun3刁鑽刁钻
Jyutpingdiu1 zyun3
Yaledīu jyun
Definition
Tricky, difficult, or demanding high skill.
colloquialdescriptions
How it's used
Describes situations, people, or tasks that are intentionally demanding or require an unusual amount of finesse to handle. It often implies that the difficulty is unnecessary or stems from someone being overly pedantic. Use it when you feel someone is deliberately making things harder than they need to be.
Examples
This client is so difficult, always changing things back and forth.
Your question is so tricky, how do you expect me to answer?
Related words
Common phrases
a tricky question
a difficult or pedantic personality
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 難搞, which simply means hard to deal with or manage. 刁鑽 specifically highlights the clever, intricate, or nitpicky nature of the difficulty, rather than just the inconvenience of the task.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
