Chinese word dictionary

一丝不苟

yìsī-bùgǒu · not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules; meticulous; not one hair out of place

Practice word

Word information

Simplified一丝不苟

Traditional一絲不苟

Pinyinyìsī-bùgǒu

Part of speechv

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.06

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

一yī

one; first

丝sī

silk, fine thread; wire; strings

不bù

not; no

苟gǒu

careless, frivolous, illicit; but, if only

How to learn 一丝不苟

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

不bù

no; not so; (bound form) not; un-

不客气búkèqi

you're welcome; don't mention it; impolite; rude; blunt

不要búyào

don't!; must not

对不起duìbuqǐ

I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint

第一dì yī

first; number one; primary

一yī

one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit