Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Meticulous / Particular: Paying extreme attention to small details; characterized by thoroughness and precision.
   • Penny-pinching / Niggardly: Excessively careful with money; stingy or frugal to a fault.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy tính toán rất chi li. (He calculates very meticulously.)
  • Bà ấy sống một cách chi li, không dám tiêu xài gì. (She lives in a penny-pinching way, not daring to spend on anything.)
  • Hãy ghi chép một cách chi li tất cả các khoản thu chi. (Please record all income and expenses in a detailed, particular manner.)

Advanced Usage

• The word often carries a slightly negative connotation, implying excessive or unnecessary attention to minor details or money.
• It can describe a person's character, a method of work, or a style of accounting.

Variants and Related Words

• Tỉ mỉ (adj): meticulous, careful. This is a close synonym but often without the strong negative connotation of stinginess.
• Kỹ lưỡng (adj): thorough, careful. Focuses on completeness rather than minute detail.
• Hà tiện (adj): stingy, miserly. Strongly emphasizes meanness with money.

Synonyms

• Meticulous: showing great attention to detail.
• Particular: fastidious about details.
• Penny-pinching: unwilling to spend money; stingy.
• Fussy: overly concerned with minor details.

Related Idioms

• Tính toán chi li: to calculate meticulously (often with a sense of being overly careful or stingy).
  • Việc tính toán chi li này khiến dự án bị chậm trễ. (This meticulous calculation caused the project to be delayed.)

adj

1. Particular, minute
   • sự tính toán chi li
     a particular calculation
   • chi thu đầy đủ và chi li
     a full and particular account