钉子

• Pinyin: dīng zi
• Desglose de hanzi: 钉 = 钅(metal) + 丁 (nail shape; fourth Heavenly Stem — implies a small metal spike); 子 = nominalising suffix (makes it a concrete noun)

Significado

Clavo; (fig.) obstáculo terco o persona inamovible.

Literally refers to metal nails used in construction and carpentry. Figuratively, 钉子户 describes homeowners who stubbornly refuse to vacate for demolition projects. 碰钉子 (to hit a nail) means to meet with a blunt rebuff or cold refusal. Rich in figurative and colloquial usage.

Ejemplos

1. 工人用锤子将钉子牢牢钉入木板，确保结构足够稳固，不会因为承重而出现松动脱落的问题。
2. 他去找老板请假，却碰了一鼻子灰，被严词拒绝，只好讪讪地退了出来，另想办法解决问题。
3. 城市改造项目因为几户钉子户迟迟不愿搬迁，整体进度一拖再拖，令开发商和相关部门都颇为头疼。

Guía de uso

Contexto: construction, everyday speech, figurative, urban development

Tono: neutral

Correcto

• 他在找工作的过程中屡屡碰钉子，被多家公司拒绝，但始终没有放弃，坚持不断地投递简历。(He met with repeated rebuffs during his job search, being turned down by multiple companies, but never gave up — he kept sending out his CV without giving in.)
• 箱子里的钉子大小不一，需要按照规格分类整理，否则施工时会造成不必要的混乱。(The nails in the box are of various sizes and need to be sorted by specification — otherwise they will cause unnecessary confusion on site during construction.)

Incorrecto

• 用钉子钉墙来挂画 — say 在墙上钉一颗钉子来挂画; saying 钉子钉墙 is redundant and unnatural — just use 在墙上钉 directly

Origen e historia

钉 (nail; to nail — metal spike for fastening) + 子 (nominalising suffix for tools and concrete objects)

Contexto cultural

Generación: All ages

Contexto social: Universal