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yì 一 zhēn 针 jiàn 见 xiě 血

一针见血 yì zhēn jiàn xiě

to hit the nail on the head; incisive and to the point

Literally: one needle see blood

Advanced 💬 Speech & communication
🃏 Practise advanced chengyu

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Origin

Descriptive; no single source story. Compare Mao Zedong's use in 1942: 一针见血地指出.

How to use it

Adverbial or predicate; positive. Often 一针见血地指出 or 说得一针见血.

Example sentences

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  1. 评论员一针见血地指出了这项政策的漏洞。
    Pínglùnyuán yì zhēn jiàn xiě de zhǐchū le zhè xiàng zhèngcè de lòudòng.
    The commentator incisively pointed out the loophole in this policy.
    commentator one needle see blood (adverbial particle) point out (aspect particle) this (measure) policy (attributive particle) loophole
  2. 她的批评一针见血，让在场的人都沉默了。
    Tā de pīpíng yì zhēn jiàn xiě, ràng zàichǎng de rén dōu chénmò le.
    Her criticism hit the nail on the head and silenced everyone present.
    she (attributive particle) criticism one needle see blood, make present (attributive particle) person all silent (particle)

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