Definition

Verb: - To insist upon, to demand with excessive strictness or nitpicking: The act of making unreasonable or overly critical demands, often to create difficulty or to extort something. It implies a petty, fault-finding attitude. - To hassle, to badger: To persistently and annoyingly question or demand things from someone.

Usage Examples

• (He keeps hassling the employees about the smallest mistakes.)
• (Don't nitpick me about every single detail like that.)
• (Insisting upon things too excessively will upset your partners.)

Advanced Usage

• "hạch sách người khác": to hassle/badger someone else.
  • Một số cán bộ có thói quen hạch sách người dân. (Some officials have a habit of hassling the public.)
• "bị hạch sách": to be hassled, to be subjected to nitpicking demands.
  • Các thủ tục rườm rà khiến người dân bị hạch sách. (Complicated procedures cause people to be hassled.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hạch (verb/noun): Can mean to interrogate strictly, to examine in detail, or refers to a lymph node. It is the root of "hạch sách," carrying the core idea of strict examination.
• Bắt bẻ (verb): To find fault, to pick holes in. A close synonym, often used interchangeably with "hạch sách."
• Gây khó dễ (verb phrase): To make things difficult (for someone).

Synonyms

• Nitpick: To criticize or find fault with minor details.
• Cavil: To make petty or unnecessary objections.
• Badger: To pester or annoy persistently.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a Vietnamese verb, "hạch sách" does not combine with particles to form phrasal verbs in the same way English verbs do. Its meaning is conveyed through context and object nouns.

Related Idioms

• "Bới lông tìm vết": Literally "to part the fur to find a blemish." It means to go out of one's way to find fault, to nitpick. This idiom strongly conveys the spirit of "hạch sách."
  • Sếp mới rất thích bới lông tìm vết. (The new boss really likes to nitpick / find fault.)

verb

1. to insist upon