Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Fussy, overly meticulous, or nitpicky: Describes a person who pays excessive attention to minor, often trivial, details, sometimes in an annoying or petty manner. This word often carries a negative connotation of being unnecessarily finicky.
   • Persistently detailed: Can describe an action or behavior characterized by persistent and minute attention to detail.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Bà ấy tính tình rất tẳn mẳn. (Her personality is very fussy.)
  • Anh ta tẳn mẳn kiểm tra từng lỗi nhỏ. (He fussily checks every small error.)
  • Đừng có tẳn mẳn với chuyện vặt vãnh ấy. (Don't be so nitpicky about that trivial matter.)

Advanced Usage

• The word tẳn mẳn is considered a regional variant, primarily used in some Northern Vietnamese dialects. It is synonymous with the more common standard word tẩn mẩn.

Variants and Related Words

• Tẩn mẩn (adj): The standard form meaning fussy, meticulous over small details.
  • Cô ấy tẩn mẩn sắp xếp lại từng cuốn sách. (She meticulously rearranged each book.)

Synonyms

• Fussy: Overly concerned with unimportant details.
• Nitpicky: Looking for small, insignificant faults.
• Meticulous: Showing great attention to detail (can be neutral or positive, whereas is often negative).
• Finicky: Excessively particular or demanding.

Related Idioms

• While no direct idioms use tẳn mẳn, the concept is related to behaviors described as:
  • Bới lông tìm vết: Literally "to part the feathers to find a blemish," meaning to nitpick or find fault where there is none.

    • Sếp lúc nào cũng bới lông tìm vết. (The boss is always nitpicking.)