对牛弹琴
duì niú tán qín
to talk over someone’s head; to waste fine words
Character by character
对duì
to
to
牛niú
an ox
an ox
弹tán
play
play
琴qín
the zither
the zither
Example
跟他讲这些道理，简直是对牛弹琴。
Explaining these principles to him is simply playing the zither to an ox.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
It can mock the listener or the speaker who misjudged the audience.
Learn this in Lesson 211 · HSK 9+: 俗语、谚语与歇后语 (Sayings, proverbs and two-part riddles)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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