对牛弹琴
To preach to deaf ears
A breakdown of the characters in 对牛弹琴(duì niú tán qín):
对(duì): at or to
牛(niú): cow
弹 (tán): to play
琴 (qín): a stringed instrument
Have you ever shared something great on Facebook, only to have no one like it?
Maybe what you shared wasn’t actually that great.
Or maybe your friends lack your taste and sophistication. Maybe it was a case of 对牛弹琴(duì niú tán qín).
对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín) means “to preach to deaf ears,” and literally means “to play the lute for a cow.” It’s used to describe a situation where A is telling B something that B is unable to understand or appreciate. It is a negative word and implies that A is talking without really considering his or her audience.
“微博营销不是对牛弹琴，而是和粉丝 谈恋爱。。。”
“wēibó yíngxiāo búshì duìniútánqín, érshì hé fěnsī tán liànài...”
“Microblog marketing is not about preaching to deaf ears, but rather, about dating your fans...”
“如果权力总是不受约束。。。只对官 员高唱道德修养和道德自律的调调，无 疑是对牛弹琴 “
“rúguǒ quánlì zǒngshì búshòu yuēshù... zhǐ duì guānyuán gāochàng dàodé xiūyǎng hé dàodé zìlǜ de diàodiào, wúyí shì duìniútánqín “
“If power is not restricted... just telling o cials about moral cultivation and moral self restraint, is undoubtedly just preaching to deaf ears”
“网络上论战是没有意义的。。。根本 就是对牛弹琴 “
“wǎngluò shàng lùnzhàn shì méiyǒu yìyì de... gēnběn jiùshì duìniútánqín “
“Engaging in a debate online is meaningless... it’s essentially casting pearls before swine”
“在利益驱使之下，对于某些人强调‘不 许转包’，恐怕连对牛弹琴的作用都达 不 到 “
“zài lìyì qūshǐ zhīxià, duìyú mǒuxiērén qiángdiào’bùxǔ zhuǎn bāo’, kǒngpà lián duìniútánqín de zuòyòng dōu dábúdào”
“When they’re compelled by pro ts, to emphasize to some people that “subcontracting is not allowed,” unfortunately is even worse than preaching to deaf ears”