Word

对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín) is a Chinese word: to cast pearls before swine. This page shows its pinyin, translation, example sentences, character breakdown, decomposition, and HSK level.

Meaning of 对牛弹琴

成语 chéng yǔ idiom

to cast pearls before swine

你跟他讲这些高深的理论,简直是对牛弹琴。

nǐ gēn tā jiǎng zhè xiē gāo shēn de lǐ lùn jiǎn zhí shì duì niú tán qín

Explaining these profound theories to him is like casting pearls before swine.

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Word breakdown

对 duì — toward/to (indicates the target or recipient)

牛 niú — cow/ox (the uncomprehending audience in the metaphor)

弹 tán — to play (a stringed instrument)

琴 qín — stringed instrument/lute (the refined art being wasted)

Structure & writing
1 对 duì — to answer; to reply
对 is a component in 1 characters

consists of

1.1 又 yòu — again; indicating repetition or successive occurrence of an action
又 is a component in 38 characters
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Stroke order

2 牛 niú — cow; ox; bull (large hoofed ruminant mammal with horns and a tufted tail, used for labor, milk, or meat)
牛 is a component in 13 characters

牛 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order

3 弹 tán — use the elasticity of one object to propel another
Xpinyin

弹 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

Stroke order

4 琴 qín — guqin, a plucked string instrument made of paulownia wood, originally with five strings, later seven

琴 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

4.1 王 wáng — monarch; supreme ruler
王 is a component in 33 characters
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4.2 王 wáng — monarch; supreme ruler
王 is a component in 33 characters
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Stroke order