对牛弹琴
duìniútánqín
to play the lute to a cow; to address the wrong audience
Characters in this word
牛 niú
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 牛 — ox, cow, bull
- How it's built
- Pictograph — a drawing of the thing
琴 qín
- Strokes
- 12
- Radical
- 王 — king, ruler
- Made of
- 玨 guitar strings 今 modern, current
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 跟他讲这些大道理，简直是对牛弹琴。 Gēn tā jiǎng zhèxiē dà dàolǐ, jiǎnzhí shì duìniú tánqín. Telling him these big principles is simply playing the lute to a cow.
- 对不懂音乐的人讲乐理，真是对牛弹琴。 Duì bù dǒng yīnyuè de rén jiǎng yuèlǐ, zhēn shì duìniú tánqín. Explaining music theory to someone who knows nothing about music is truly pointless.
- 你别白费力气了，跟他说就是对牛弹琴。 Nǐ bié báifèi lìqi le, gēn tā shuō jiùshì duìniú tánqín. Don't waste your effort; talking to him is like playing to a cow.
Related words
- 不对 búduì wrong, incorrect
- 对 duì right, correct
- 对不起 duìbuqǐ sorry, excuse me
- 对 duì to match; to face
- 对话 duìhuà dialogue
- 对面 duìmiàn opposite; across from
- 对待 duìdài to treat; to deal with
- 对方 duìfāng the other side; the other person
- 对手 duìshǒu opponent; rival
- 对象 duìxiàng partner; boyfriend or girlfriend
- 反对 fǎnduì to oppose
- 绝对 juéduì absolutely