细微末节 xì wēi mò jié minor details

Explanation

指细小的问题或细节。常用于批评或劝诫对方不要拘泥于小节，而忽略了主要问题。

Refers to minor issues or details. Often used to criticize or advise others not to focus on minor details, ignoring the major problem.

Origin Story

小张是一位年轻的画家，他为了创作一幅山水画，花费了数月时间，跑遍了名山大川，收集了大量的素材。可是，临近交稿日期时，他却因为画中的一棵小树枝的弯曲程度而苦恼不已，反复修改，却怎么也达不到自己心目中的完美境界。他的老师看到后，笑着说：“小张啊，艺术的魅力在于整体的和谐，而不是拘泥于细微末节。这幅画的意境已经很不错了，不必再为一棵小树枝而浪费时间了。”小张听了老师的话，豁然开朗，他最终完成了作品，并获得了不错的评价。

xiǎo zhāng shì yī wèi nián qīng de huà jiā, tā wèi le chuàng zuò yī fú shān shuǐ huà, huāfèi le shù yuè shí jiān, pǎo biàn le míng shān dà chuān, shōují le dà liàng de sùcái. kěshì, lín jìn jiāo gǎo rì qī shí, tā què yīn wèi huà zhōng de yī kē xiǎo shù zhī de wān qū chéngdù ér kǔnǎo bù yǐ, fǎn fù xiūgǎi, què zěnme yě dá bù dào zìjǐ xīn mù zhōng de wán měi jìng jiè. tā de lǎoshī kàn dào hòu, xiào zhe shuō:“xiǎo zhāng a, yìshù de mèilì zài yú zhěngtǐ de héxié, ér bù shì jūní yú xì wēi mò jié. zhè fú huà de yì jìng yǐ jīng hěn bù cuò le, bù bì zài wèi yī kē xiǎo shù zhī ér làngfèi shí jiān le.” xiǎo zhāng tīng le lǎoshī de huà, huò rán kāilǎng, tā zuìzhōng wánchéng le zuòpǐn, bìng huòdé le bù cuò de píngjià.

Xiao Zhang, a young painter, spent months traveling to famous mountains and rivers, collecting a large amount of material for a landscape painting. However, as the deadline approached, he was troubled by the curvature of a small tree branch in the painting, repeatedly modifying it but never achieving the perfect state in his mind. His teacher, seeing this, smiled and said, “Xiao Zhang, the charm of art lies in the overall harmony, not in sticking to minor details. The artistic conception of this painting is already very good; don't waste time on a small tree branch.” Xiao Zhang, enlightened by his teacher's words, finally completed the work and received good reviews.

Usage

多用于书面语，形容细小的环节或细节。

duō yòng yú shū miàn yǔ, xíngróng xì xiǎo de huánjié huò xìjié.

Mostly used in written language to describe minor aspects or details.

Examples

• 他做事总是考虑周全，不忽略任何细微末节。

  ta zuò shì zǒng shì kǎo lǜ zhōu quán, bù hūlüè rènhé xì wēi mò jié.

  He always considers everything thoroughly and does not ignore any small details.

• 不要被一些细枝末节的事情所困扰，要着眼于全局。

  bú yào bèi yīxiē xì zhī mò jié de shìqíng suǒ kùnrǎo, yào zhāo yǎn yú quánjú.

  Don't be bothered by minor details, focus on the overall situation.

Related Idioms

• 细枝末节

• 枝节问题

Opposite Idioms

• 大处着眼，小处着手

• 轻重缓急