tỉ ti

Một cô bé đang tỉ ti vì làm rơi kem.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Petty, trivial, insignificant: Describes something of very little importance, value, or consequence. Often used to criticize excessive attention to minor details.
   • Fussy, nitpicky: Characterizes a person who is overly concerned with trivial matters or minor flaws.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đừng tỉ ti những chuyện nhỏ nhặt như vậy. (Don't be so petty about such trivial matters.)
  • Tính cô ấy hơi tỉ ti, hay để ý lỗi rất nhỏ. (Her personality is a bit fussy; she often notices very minor mistakes.)
  • Khoản tiền tỉ ti đó không đáng để tranh cãi. (That trivial amount of money is not worth arguing about.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is often used in a disapproving or dismissive tone to indicate that something is too minor to warrant attention, emotion, or action.

Variants and Related Words

• Tỉ mỉ (adj): meticulous, thorough. (Note: While "tỉ mỉ" is positive (careful with details), "tỉ ti" is negative (fussy over trivialities)).
• Ti tiện (adj): mean, vile, base. (Note: This is stronger and refers to low moral character, not triviality).

Synonyms

• Petty: concerned with insignificant matters.
• Trivial: of little value or importance.
• Nitpicky: overly critical of minor details.
• Fussy: excessively concerned with details.

Related Idioms

• Chuyện tỉ ti: petty/trivial matters.
  • Bỏ qua mấy chuyện tỉ ti đi. (Forget about those petty matters.)
• Tính toán tỉ ti: to calculate or argue over trivial sums.
  • Người bán hàng tính toán tỉ ti từng nghìn đồng. (The vendor nitpicks over every thousand dong.)