钻牛角 in English zuan1 niu2 jiao3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) honing a bull's horn; metaphorically to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem
  • to bash one's head against a brick wall
  • a wild goose chase
  • a blind alley
  • to split hairs
  • same as idiomatic expression 鑽牛角尖|钻牛角尖

Simplified Characters

钻 牛 角

Traditional Characters

鑽 牛 角

Pinyin

zuan1 niu2 jiao3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

钻zuan1variant of 鑽|钻[zuan4] 牛niu2surname Niu 角jiao3surname Jue