碰钉子 (pèngdīngzi) Being rejected / Being turned down
The character “碰 (pèng)” means to run into; “钉 (dīng)” means nail or tack
and “子 (zi)” is used as a suffix here.
Example:
Tā zài bànshì de shíhou pèngle dīngzi, huíjiā hòu xīnqíng bùhǎo.
他在办事的时候碰了钉子，回家后心情不好。
He was in a bad mood when he came back home, for he was rejected when doing his job.
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