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yī 一 sī 丝 bù 不 gǒu 苟

一丝不苟 yī sī bù gǒu

meticulous; scrupulous about every detail

Literally: one thread not careless

Intermediate 💼 Work & money
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Origin

Descriptive; no single source story. Appears in the Qing novel The Scholars (Rulin Waishi) describing strict, careful conduct.

How to use it

Adverbial or attributive; positive. Often 一丝不苟地工作 or 一丝不苟的态度.

Example sentences

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  1. 她做事一丝不苟，从来没出过错。
    Tā zuòshì yī sī bù gǒu, cónglái méi chū guo cuò.
    She is meticulous in her work and has never made a mistake.
    she do-things one thread not careless, ever not make (experiential-particle) mistake
  2. 老师一丝不苟地检查了每一个学生的作业。
    Lǎoshī yī sī bù gǒu de jiǎnchá le měi yī gè xuésheng de zuòyè.
    The teacher scrupulously checked every student's homework.
    teacher one thread not careless (particle) check (particle) every one (measure) student (particle) homework

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