精工细作
jīng gōng xì zuò
meticulous workmanship; made with great care
Character by character
精jīng
fine
fine
工gōng
work
work
细xì
careful
careful
作zuò
make
make
Example
这套家具是老师傅精工细作出来的，用了几十年还很结实。
This furniture was made with great care by an old craftsman, and after decades of use it is still solid.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Said of handmade goods and crafts, and by extension of careful cooking or careful work of any kind: 精工细作的工艺品. Compare 精雕细琢 (lesson 3-16), which stresses polishing and detail; the opposite is 粗制滥造, “shoddy, slapdash”. Do not confuse it with 精耕细作, intensive farming.
Learn this in Lesson 235 · HSK 9+: 我在故宫修文物 (Restoring the Forbidden City’s treasures)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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