割鸡焉用牛刀
gē jī yān yòng niú dāo
Pinyin

Definition

割鸡焉用牛刀
 - 
gē jī yān yòng niú dāo
  1. lit. why use a pole-ax to slaughter a chicken? (idiom)
  2. fig. to waste effort on a trifling matter
  3. also written 殺雞焉用牛刀|杀鸡焉用牛刀[shā jī yān yòng niú dāo]

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

使用
shǐ yòng
  1. 1 to use
  2. 2 to employ
  3. 3 to apply
  4. 4 to make use of
牛
Niú
  1. 1 surname Niu
用
yòng
  1. 1 to use
  2. 2 to employ
  3. 3 to have to
  4. 4 to eat or drink
  5. 5 expense or outlay
  6. 6 usefulness
  7. 7 hence
  8. 8 therefore
用户
yòng hù
  1. 1 user
  2. 2 consumer
  3. 3 subscriber
  4. 4 customer
不用
bù yòng
  1. 1 need not
享用
xiǎng yòng
  1. 1 to enjoy (i.e. have the use or benefit of)
伏牛山
Fú niú shān
  1. 1 Funiu mountain range in southwest Henan, an eastern extension of Qinling range 秦嶺山脈|秦岭山脉[Qín lǐng shān mài], Shaanxi
占用
zhàn yòng
  1. 1 to occupy
作用
zuò yòng
  1. 1 to act on
  2. 2 to affect
  3. 3 action
  4. 4 function
  5. 5 activity
  6. 6 impact
  7. 7 result
  8. 8 effect
  9. 9 purpose
  10. 10 intent
  11. 11 to play a role
  12. 12 corresponds to English -ity, -ism, -ization
  13. 13 CL:個|个[gè]
使用者
shǐ yòng zhě
  1. 1 user
信用
xìn yòng
  1. 1 to trust
  2. 2 credit (commerce)
  3. 3 trustworthiness
  4. 4 creditworthiness
信用卡
xìn yòng kǎ
  1. 1 credit card
借用
jiè yòng
  1. 1 to borrow sth for another use
  2. 2 to borrow an idea for one's own use
备用
bèi yòng
  1. 1 reserve
  2. 2 spare
  3. 3 alternate
  4. 4 backup
公牛
gōng niú
  1. 1 bull
刀
Dāo
  1. 1 surname Dao
刀剑
dāo jiàn
  1. 1 sword
刀子
dāo zi
  1. 1 knife
  2. 2 CL:把[bǎ]
分割
fēn gē
  1. 1 to cut up
  2. 2 to break up
利用
lì yòng
  1. 1 to exploit
  2. 2 to make use of
  3. 3 to use
  4. 4 to take advantage of
  5. 5 to utilize

Idioms (20)

一刀两断
yī dāo liǎng duàn
  1. 1 lit. two segments with a single cut (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to make a clean break (idiom)
一刀切
yī dāo qiē
  1. 1 lit. to cut all at one stroke (idiom); to impose uniformity
  2. 2 one solution fits a diversity of problems
  3. 3 one size fits all
一心二用
yī xīn èr yòng
  1. 1 to do two things at once (idiom)
  2. 2 to multitask
  3. 3 to divide one's attention
不入虎穴，焉得虎子
bù rù hǔ xué , yān dé hǔ zǐ
  1. 1 How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair? (idiom); Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
九牛一毛
jiǔ niú yī máo
  1. 1 lit. one hair from nine oxen (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. a drop in the ocean
九牛二虎之力
jiǔ niú èr hǔ zhī lì
  1. 1 tremendous strength (idiom)
人为刀俎，我为鱼肉
rén wéi dāo zǔ , wǒ wéi yú ròu
  1. 1 lit. to be the meat on sb's chopping block (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be at sb's mercy
任人宰割
rèn rén zǎi gē
  1. 1 to get trampled on (idiom)
  2. 2 to be taken advantage of
借刀杀人
jiè dāo shā rén
  1. 1 to lend sb a knife to kill sb
  2. 2 to get sb else to do one's dirty work
  3. 3 to attack using the strength of another (idiom)
两肋插刀
liǎng lèi chā dāo
  1. 1 lit. knifes piercing both sides (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to attach a great importance to friendship, up to the point of being able to sacrifice oneself for it
两面三刀
liǎng miàn sān dāo
  1. 1 two-faced, three knives (idiom); double-cross
  2. 2 double dealing and back stabbing
刀不磨要生锈，人不学要落后
dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu
  1. 1 a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)
刀子嘴，豆腐心
dāo zi zuǐ , dòu fu xīn
  1. 1 to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart (idiom)
刀山火海
dāo shān huǒ hǎi
  1. 1 lit. mountains of daggers and seas of flames
  2. 2 fig. extreme danger (idiom)
刀枪不入
dāo qiāng bù rù
  1. 1 lit. impervious to sword or spear (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. invulnerable
  3. 3 untouchable
  4. 4 thick-skinned
  5. 5 impervious to criticism
刀锯斧钺
dāo jù fǔ yuè
  1. 1 knife, saw, ax and hatchet (idiom); facing torture and execution
初生牛犊不怕虎
chū shēng niú dú bù pà hǔ
  1. 1 lit. newborn calves do not fear tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the young are fearless
别有用心
bié yǒu yòng xīn
  1. 1 to have an ulterior motive (idiom)
别无他用
bié wú tā yòng
  1. 1 to have no other use or purpose (idiom)
刚愎自用
gāng bì zì yòng
  1. 1 obstinate and self-opinionated (idiom)

Sample Sentences