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对牛弹琴 - Like Talking to A Post
20/09/08 18:54
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对牛弹琴
duì niǔ tán qín
This is another of my favourites that I unfortunately don't get a chance to use often. I "rediscovered" it while testing the Top Ten Viewed Idioms page that I recently made - it was the most viewed by a long shot.
I like this idiom for two reasons: its meaning is amusing and cutting when used properly, and it's the only idiom I've ever overhead someone (who didn't think I'd understand them) use in normal speech - describing a certain group of people learning Chinese, who where ... a little slower than average.
This idiom's literal translation is pretty close to its English twin: "Playing piano for a cow". Its English twin being: "Like talking to a post / To cast pearls before swine".
See why I think it's amusing?
This idiom is wonderful. Can you imagine someone sitting in a paddock with a Grand Piano, playing their heart out to a herd of cattle? Maybe I'm weird, but I can, and it amuses me greatly. And some conversations, or attempts to teach certain people can be very similar to that - with less mooing.
So next time you're exasperated at another's inability to grasp a simple concept, or their general lack of mental celerity, think to yourself "对牛弹琴" (but try not to say it out loud, at least to the subject of the "praise")!
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对牛弹琴
duì niǔ tán qín
This is another of my favourites that I unfortunately don't get a chance to use often. I "rediscovered" it while testing the Top Ten Viewed Idioms page that I recently made - it was the most viewed by a long shot.
I like this idiom for two reasons: its meaning is amusing and cutting when used properly, and it's the only idiom I've ever overhead someone (who didn't think I'd understand them) use in normal speech - describing a certain group of people learning Chinese, who where ... a little slower than average.
This idiom's literal translation is pretty close to its English twin: "Playing piano for a cow". Its English twin being: "Like talking to a post / To cast pearls before swine".
See why I think it's amusing?
This idiom is wonderful. Can you imagine someone sitting in a paddock with a Grand Piano, playing their heart out to a herd of cattle? Maybe I'm weird, but I can, and it amuses me greatly. And some conversations, or attempts to teach certain people can be very similar to that - with less mooing.
So next time you're exasperated at another's inability to grasp a simple concept, or their general lack of mental celerity, think to yourself "对牛弹琴" (but try not to say it out loud, at least to the subject of the "praise")!
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似曾相识 - Déjà Vu
18/07/08 00:04
似曾相识
Sì céng xiāng shí
I’m always interested in Chinese idioms that have English equivalents, and was pleased when I came across this one. It means “similar to something seen in the past”, or déjà vu.
It is quite appropriate for me, as this week I’m required to read three chapters of a text book that I had to read last year, for a prerequisite course. I know it doesn’t techinically fit the core meaning, as I can explicitly rememer reading these chapters, but I couldn’t think of a recent déjà vu experience. Actually, all I could think of was that cat from the Matrix.
Although this book is familiar to me, I still have to read it again.
虽然我觉得这本书有一点似曾相识，但是我还要再读一遍。
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Sì céng xiāng shí
I’m always interested in Chinese idioms that have English equivalents, and was pleased when I came across this one. It means “similar to something seen in the past”, or déjà vu.
It is quite appropriate for me, as this week I’m required to read three chapters of a text book that I had to read last year, for a prerequisite course. I know it doesn’t techinically fit the core meaning, as I can explicitly rememer reading these chapters, but I couldn’t think of a recent déjà vu experience. Actually, all I could think of was that cat from the Matrix.
Although this book is familiar to me, I still have to read it again.
虽然我觉得这本书有一点似曾相识，但是我还要再读一遍。
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忍无可忍 - More Than I Can Bear
13/06/08 12:30
忍无可忍
Rěn wú kě rěn
Oh boy, the past few months have been a trial, almost “more than I could bear” - the meaning of today’s idiom. Also, I created this entry yesterday, and set up the computer to upload it while I was sleeping. Got up this morning to find that the program had crashed and all my work was gone. That, reader, was definitely 忍无可忍!
如果我的老师给我更多功课，我会忍无可忍！
If my teacher gives me any more homework, it’ll be more the straw that breaks the camel’s back!
“The straw that broke the camel’s back” is a more idiomatic translation.
On top of everything, it took me over 30 attempts to get the pronunciation even close to correct. My wife is a strict mistress (I admit, my third tone is awful).
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Rěn wú kě rěn
Oh boy, the past few months have been a trial, almost “more than I could bear” - the meaning of today’s idiom. Also, I created this entry yesterday, and set up the computer to upload it while I was sleeping. Got up this morning to find that the program had crashed and all my work was gone. That, reader, was definitely 忍无可忍!
如果我的老师给我更多功课，我会忍无可忍！
If my teacher gives me any more homework, it’ll be more the straw that breaks the camel’s back!
“The straw that broke the camel’s back” is a more idiomatic translation.
On top of everything, it took me over 30 attempts to get the pronunciation even close to correct. My wife is a strict mistress (I admit, my third tone is awful).
(0 Comments)
积非成是 - Don't Cry Wolf
14/01/08 00:48
积非成是
Jī fěi chéng shì
I chose this one because it is similar to a western idiom: "Don't cry wolf." While it doesn't necessarily convey the same negative - there is not "don't" I'd guess that lies are seen as wrong no matter the culture, and thus an inherent meaning of the Chinese idiom is: watch what you spread around, people might believe it.
Another reason for me to choose this idiom was that it uses “成” alone, a character that I have as yet encountered only as a part of other words. The usage in this idiom means "becomes." It is a word I've learned at university, but haven't seen used very often.
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Jī fěi chéng shì
- A lie, if passed on for a long time, might become truth.
I chose this one because it is similar to a western idiom: "Don't cry wolf." While it doesn't necessarily convey the same negative - there is not "don't" I'd guess that lies are seen as wrong no matter the culture, and thus an inherent meaning of the Chinese idiom is: watch what you spread around, people might believe it.
Another reason for me to choose this idiom was that it uses “成” alone, a character that I have as yet encountered only as a part of other words. The usage in this idiom means "becomes." It is a word I've learned at university, but haven't seen used very often.
(0 Comments)
入乡随俗 - As the Romans Do
11/01/08 05:36
见风使舵 - See How the Cat Jumps
18/12/07 18:21
