Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Nitpicky, overly meticulous, pedantic: Describes a person who pays excessive attention to minor details, often in a critical or fault-finding manner. It implies a tendency to be overly strict or demanding about trivial matters.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông ấy rất sắc mắc trong công việc, đôi khi khiến đồng nghiệp mệt mỏi. (He is very nitpicky at work, sometimes making his colleagues tired.)
  • Đừng sắc mắc với những lỗi nhỏ như vậy. (Don't be so pedantic about such minor mistakes.)
  • Cô giáo sắc mắc nên bài kiểm tra nào cũng được chấm rất kỹ. (The teacher is meticulous, so every test is graded very carefully.)

Advanced Usage

• "tính sắc mắc": nitpicking nature, pedantic tendency.
  • Tính sắc mắc của anh ấy đôi khi gây ra tranh cãi không cần thiết. (His nitpicking nature sometimes causes unnecessary arguments.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sắc sảo (adj): Sharp, astute, perceptive (often positive, relating to intelligence or wit).
  • Cô ấy là một nhà phê bình sắc sảo. (She is an astute critic.)
• Tỉ mỉ (adj): Careful, thorough, painstaking (can be positive or neutral, focusing on diligence rather than criticism).
  • Anh thợ làm việc rất tỉ mỉ. (The craftsman works very carefully.)

Synonyms

• Khắt khe: Strict, stringent (broader term for strictness).
• Cầu toàn: Perfectionist (focuses on the desire for perfection).
• Bắt bẻ: To pick on, to find fault (verb form, emphasizes the action of criticizing).

Related Phrases

• Sắc mắc từng li từng tí: To be nitpicky about every tiny detail.
  • Ông chủ sắc mắc từng li từng tí về báo cáo. (The boss is nitpicky about every tiny detail in the report.)

Notes on Usage

• The word sắc mắc often carries a slightly negative connotation, suggesting the criticism or attention to detail is excessive and potentially annoying to others.
• It is important to distinguish it from tỉ mỉ (meticulous/ thorough), which is generally a positive trait, and sắc sảo (sharp/astute), which describes keen intelligence.

1. xem xắc mắc