Definition
This is a four-character idiom (成语) with a literal meaning of 'the smell of mother's milk hasn't dried yet,' used to describe someone who is still young and lacks experience — equivalent to 'wet behind the ears' in English. It carries a mildly critical or joking tone about immaturity.
f.e.
still wet behind the earsyoung and inexperienced
Examples
- ,乳臭未干,。Tā suīrán dàxué bìyè le, dàn zài gōngzuò jīngyàn fāngmiàn háishì rǔ xiù wèi gān, xūyào duō xuéxí.Although he graduated from college, he is still wet behind the ears in terms of work experience and needs to learn more.
- ,乳臭未干,。Bié kàn tā niánjì bù xiǎo, qíshí rǔ xiù wèi gān, yí yù dào fùzá wèntí jiù huāng le.Don't think he's old — he is actually still wet behind the ears and panics as soon as he encounters complex problems.
- 乳臭未干,。Zhège xīn lái de shíxíshēng rǔ xiù wèi gān, zuò qǐ shì lái máo shǒu máo jiǎo de.This new intern is still wet behind the ears; he does things clumsily.
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