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对牛弹琴

duì niú tán qín

HSK 3.0 level 7-9 4-character word Traditional 對牛彈琴

对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín) means "lit. to play the lute to a cow (idiom); fig. offering a treat to an unappreciative audience; to cast pearls before swine". It is an HSK 3.0 level 7-9 word, and was not on the old six-level HSK list.

What 对牛弹琴 means

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

The characters in 对牛弹琴

• 对duìright; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding
• 牛niúox; cow; bull
• 弹dàncrossball; bullet; shot
• 琴qínguqin 古琴; musical instrument in general

Example sentences

• 跟小人说理，就如同对牛弹琴。
  Gēn xiǎorén shuōlǐ, jiù rútóng duìniútánqín.
  Reasoning with a villain is pointless.

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read duì niú tán qín correctly.
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