# 锱铢必较

zī zhū bì jiào

Quibble over every tiny amount

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Compare even the smallest weights

**Traditional Chinese:** 錙銖必較

**Register:** Critical · expressive

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Criticize petty calculation over money or advantage.

Careful accounting is not always pettiness.

## Understanding the expression

Tiny units of weight make the calculation seem excessively fine. The expression usually criticizes someone who argues over the smallest amount of money or refuses to yield any minor advantage. It can extend beyond money to trivial details. Yet accuracy matters in accounting, and limited resources can make small costs significant. The critical sense arises when the insistence is disproportionate to the context and damages cooperation or goodwill more than it protects a real need.

## Examples

他连一分钱都锱铢必较。

### Traditional Chinese

他連一分錢都錙銖必較。

tā lián yì fēn qián dōu zī zhū bì jiào 。

He quibbles over even a single cent.

朋友分摊饭钱，不必锱铢必较。

### Traditional Chinese

朋友分攤飯錢，不必錙銖必較。

péng yǒu fēn tān fàn qián ， bú bì zī zhū bì jiào 。

Friends sharing a meal’s cost need not argue over every tiny amount.

她对公款认真核算，并非锱铢必较。

### Traditional Chinese

她對公款認真核算，並非錙銖必較。

tā duì gōng kuǎn rèn zhēn hé suàn ， bìng fēi zī zhū bì jiào 。

Her careful accounting of public funds is not petty quibbling.

商家锱铢必较，连补寄邮费都不肯出。

### Traditional Chinese

商家錙銖必較，連補寄郵費都不肯出。

shāng jiā zī zhū bì jiào ， lián bǔ jì yóu fèi dōu bù kěn chū 。

The merchant was so petty about costs that it refused even the replacement postage.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E9%8C%99%E9%8A%96%E5%BF%85%E8%BC%83)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=1026&webMd=1&la=0)

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