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对牛弹琴 (duì niú-tán qín) — (idiom) to waste effort on someone who doesn't appreciate it; to cast pearls before swine

Definition

A chengyu meaning to waste your effort explaining something to someone who can't understand or appreciate it. The image comes from playing a lute for a cow — the cow just doesn't get music.

idiom
to waste effort on someone who doesn't appreciate itto cast pearls before swine

Examples

  • ，对牛弹琴。
    Tā gēn běn bù dǒng yì shù, nǐ gěi tā jiǎng zhè fú huà jiǎn zhí jiù shì duì niú-tán qín.
    He doesn't understand art at all — explaining this painting to him is like casting pearls before swine.
  • ，对牛弹琴？
    Duì zhè xiē méi xué guò wù lǐ de rén jiǎng xiāng duì lùn, bú shì duì niú-tán qín ma?
    Talking about relativity to people who haven't studied physics — isn't that like playing the lute to a cow?
  • 对牛弹琴，。
    Bié duì niú-tán qín le, tā gēn běn tīng bú jìn qù.
    Don't waste your breath — he's not listening at all.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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.

Open 牛 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 彈; 弹 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān彈tán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 彈 pairs 弓 (bow) with the sound part 單; the simplified 弹 is a shorthand.

Open 弹 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
珡珡qín
Sound part声符shēngfú
今
今jīn琴qín
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

琴 pairs 珡, the part tied to its sense as a stringed instrument, with 今, which gives the sound.

Open 琴 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & SpeechIdioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.