对牛弹琴 - lit. to play the lute to a cow (idiom)/fig. offering a treat to an unappreciative audience/to cast pearls before swine/caviar to the general/to preach to deaf ears/to talk over sb's head - duì niú tán qín | Definition

一琴一鹤

yī qín yī hè

1 carrying very little luggage (idiom)
2 honest and incorruptible (government officials)

九牛一毛

jiǔ niú yī máo

1 lit. one hair from nine oxen (idiom)
2 fig. a drop in the ocean

九牛二虎之力

jiǔ niú èr hǔ zhī lì

1 tremendous strength (idiom)

人琴俱亡

rén qín jù wàng

1 person and lute have both vanished (idiom)
2 death of a close friend

初生牛犊不怕虎

chū shēng niú dú bù pà hǔ

1 lit. newborn calves do not fear tigers (idiom)
2 fig. the young are fearless

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]

呼牛作马

hū niú zuò mǎ

1 to call sth a cow or a horse (idiom); it doesn't matter what you call it
2 Insult me if you want, I don't care what you call me.

呼牛呼马

hū niú hū mǎ

1 to call sth a cow or a horse (idiom); it doesn't matter what you call it
2 Insult me if you want, I don't care what you call me.

土牛木马

tǔ niú mù mǎ

1 clay ox, wooden horse (idiom); shape without substance
2 worthless object

多如牛毛

duō rú niú máo

1 as many as the hair of the ox (idiom)
2 great amount of
3 countless

对牛弹琴

duì niú tán qín

1 lit. to play the lute to a cow (idiom)
2 fig. offering a treat to an unappreciative audience
3 to cast pearls before swine
4 caviar to the general
5 to preach to deaf ears
6 to talk over sb's head

小试牛刀

xiǎo shì niú dāo

1 to give a small demonstration of one's impressive skills (idiom)

带牛佩犊

dài niú pèi dú

1 to abandon armed struggle and return to raising cattle (idiom)

杀牛宰羊

shā niú zǎi yáng

1 slaughter the cattle and butcher the sheep
2 to prepare a big feast (idiom)

气喘如牛

qì chuǎn rú niú

1 to breathe heavily like an ox (idiom)
2 to huff and puff

汗牛充栋

hàn niú chōng dòng

1 lit. enough books to make a pack-ox sweat or to fill a house to the rafters (idiom); fig. many books

泥牛入海

ní niú rù hǎi

1 lit. a clay ox enters the sea (idiom); fig. to disappear with no hope of returning

牛山濯濯

niú shān zhuó zhuó

1 treeless hills (idiom)

牛溲马勃

niú sōu mǎ bó

1 cow's piss, horse's ulcer (idiom); worthless nonsense
2 insignificant

牛衣对泣

niú yī duì qì

1 couple living in destitute misery (idiom)

Definition

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

Idioms (20)

Sample Sentences