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对牛弹琴

duì niú tán qín

HSK 7–9

Meaning

  • lit. to play the lute to a cow (idiom)
  • fig. offering a treat to an unappreciative audience
  • to cast pearls before swine
  • caviar to the general
  • to preach to deaf ears
  • to talk over sb's head

Definition

比喻说话做事不看对象，白费力气。

To play the lute to a cow; to cast pearls before swine; to talk to someone who doesn't understand or appreciate.

Usage

常用于形容对不懂道理的人讲道理，或对不理解的人解释某事，暗示对方无法理解或欣赏。

Used to describe explaining something to someone who doesn't understand or appreciate it, implying a waste of effort.

Examples

  • 1 你跟他解释这个复杂的理论，简直就是对牛弹琴。 (Explaining this complex theory to him is like casting pearls before swine.)
  • 2 我跟他讲了半天，他一句也没听懂，真是对牛弹琴。 (I talked to him for a long time, but he didn't understand a word; it was like playing the lute to a cow.)
  • 3 他完全不懂艺术，你给他讲抽象画就是对牛弹琴。 (He knows nothing about art; talking to him about abstract painting is like casting pearls before swine.)
  • 4 你这样对牛弹琴，还不如直接做给他看。 (Instead of talking to someone who doesn't understand, you'd better show him directly.)
  • 5 在不懂文学的人面前谈论莎士比亚，往往是对牛弹琴。 (Talking about Shakespeare in front of someone who doesn't understand literature is often like playing the lute to a cow.)

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