鸡同鸭讲
jī tóng yā jiǎng
talking past each other; no common language
Character by character
鸡jī
chicken
chicken
同tóng
with
with
鸭yā
duck
duck
讲jiǎng
talk
talk
Example
我说普通话，他说方言，简直是鸡同鸭讲。
I spoke Putonghua, he spoke dialect; it was a chicken talking to a duck.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From Cantonese.
Learn this in Lesson 34 · HSK 5–6: 方言与普通话 (Dialects and the standard language)
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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