Ever tried explaining something brilliant to someone who just… didn’t get it? Ever made a very funny joke that no one in the room understood? Have you tried to share your love of Shakespeare with a friend who doesn’t appreciate poetry? The Chinese idiom 对牛弹琴, which literally translates to “playing the lute to a cow,” is used to describe a situation where the audience isn’t sophisticated enough to understand or appreciate what someone is saying to them or sharing with them. Today, we will read the story behind this idiom.
Here are some examples of this phrase used in a sentence:
- 我跟他解释了半天区块链的原理，他一句也没听懂，真是对牛弹琴。I spent ages explaining how blockchain works to him, and he didn’t understand a single word — it was like playing the lute to a cow.
- 我不懂音乐，你跟我聊贝多芬，简直是对牛弹琴。I don’t know anything about music. Talking to me about Beethoven is basically playing the lute to a cow.
- 别跟他讲道理了，他根本不想听，你这是对牛弹琴。Don’t bother reasoning with him — he has no interest in listening. You’re just playing the lute to a cow.
Key vocab
安静 – ān jìng – quiet, peaceful
曲子 – qǔ zi – musical piece, tune
认真 – rèn zhēn – earnest, serious
反应 – fǎn yìng – reaction, response
失望 – shī wàng – disappointed
用心 – yòng xīn – devoted, attentive
老农 – lǎo nóng – old farmer
明白 – míng bai – to understand
对象 – duì xiàng – target, audience, object
对牛弹琴
从前，有一个人非常会弹琴。他弹得很好听，大家都喜欢听。
有一天，他走到田里，看见一头牛在吃草。他想：这头牛这么安静，一定喜欢音乐。
于是，他坐下来，开始给牛弹琴。他弹了一首很美的曲子，弹得非常认真。
可是牛没有反应。它还是低着头吃草，一直吃，一直吃。
那个人很失望。他又弹了一首，弹得更好，更用心。
牛还是吃草。
这时候，一个老农走过来，看了看他，笑着说：”你别弹了。牛听不懂音乐。你弹得再好，它也只想吃草。”
那个人不说话了。他坐在那里，看着牛，慢慢地明白了。
这个故事告诉我们：跟不懂的人说他不懂的话，是没有用的。说话要看对象。
3 replies on “Idioms: 对牛弹琴 – Playing the Lute to a Cow”
thanks for the lesson.
this was nice, I’ve never heard of this idiom before.
In Vietnam we also have a similar phrase, which is “Đàn gảy tai trâu.” Finally, I can understand a paragraph without any translation.