Chinese

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land snail
horn; angle; role
horn; angle; role; actor; contend; horn-shaped; Chinese musical note
 
's; him/her/it; this struggle; fight
trad. (蝸角之爭)
simp. (蜗角之争)
Literally: “struggle between the snail horns”.

Etymology

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From Zhuangzi:

:「所謂?」:「。」「相與數萬。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
:「所谓?」:「。」「相与数万。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Zhuangzi, circa 3rd – 2nd centuries BCE
Dài Jìnrén yuē: “Yǒu suǒwèi wō zhě, jūn zhī zhī hū?” Yuē: “Rán.” “yǒu guó yú wō zhī zuǒ jiǎo zhě yuē Chù shì, yǒu guó yú wō zhī yòu jiǎo zhě yuē Mán shì, shí xiàngyǔ zhēng dì ér zhàn, fú shī shùwàn, zhú běi xún yǒu wǔ rì ér hòu fǎn.” [Pinyin]
Dai Jinren said, "There is a creature called the snail—does Your Majesty know it?"
"Yes."
"On top of its left horn is a kingdom called Buffet, and on top of its right horn is a kingdom called Maul. At times they quarrel over territory and go to war, strewing the field with corpses by the ten thousands, the victor pursuing the vanquished for half a month before returning home."

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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蝸角之爭

  1. petty squabble; quarrel over trivial matters

Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (蝸角之爭):
  • Korean: 와각지쟁(蝸角之爭) (wagakjijaeng)
  • Japanese: ()(ぎゅう)(かく)(じょう)(あらそ) (kagyūkakujō no arasoi) (calque)
  • Korean

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    Hanja in this term

    Noun

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    蝸角之爭 (wagakjijaeng) (hangeul 와각지쟁)

    1. hanja form? of 와각지쟁 (petty squabble)