吹牛皮 (chuī niú pí) — to boast, to brag (colloquial)

Definition

Colloquial verb meaning 'to boast, to brag' — a set phrase (literally 'blow cowhide') used in casual speech, stronger and more vivid than 说大话.

verb

to boastto brag (colloquial)

吹牛皮。
Tā zǒng shì xǐ huan chuī niú pí.
He always likes to brag.
，。
Tā chuī le yí gè niú, shuō zì jǐ hěn yǒu qián.
He told a big lie, saying he was very rich.
，吹牛皮。
Bié tīng tā de, tā jiù shì zài chuī niú pí.
Don't listen to him; he's just bragging.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

牛皮cowhide

偏正Modifier + head

“吹” means blow and “牛皮” means cowhide, so the image of blowing cowhide gives the sense of bragging.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

口欠吹

吹 pairs 口 (mouth) with 欠 (blow), giving the picture of air being blown from the mouth.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

牛 is drawn as a bull's head, with two horns and two ears.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Appears in