勾心斗角

gōu xīn dòu jiǎo

to scheme against each other

Character by character

勾gōu
hook

心xīn
centre

斗dòu
vie

角jiǎo
corner

我受不了办公室里的勾心斗角。

I can't stand all the office politics.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Once described palace roofs whose corners and centres interlock; now intrigue. Also 钩心斗角.

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