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乌白马角
乌白马角
乌白马角
乌白马角
乌白马角
乌白马角
乌白马角
乌白马角

乌白马角 — “Refers to utterly impossible or highly improbable events”

乌白马角 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to utterly impossible or highly improbable events”. Something that will never happen, an insurmountable impossibility. Literally, “Crows turn white and horses grow horns”.

Frequency

乌白马角 Pronunciation and Pinyin

乌白马角 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
乌
wū4crow, black, nothing, alas
白
bái5white, bright, clear
马
mǎ3horse, big, large
角
jiǎo7horn, corner, angle, role, dime

Example Sentence with 乌白马角

想要不劳而获,除非乌白马角,否则是不可能的
To achieve something without any effort is as impossible as crows turning white and horses growing horns.

Origin and Story of 乌白马角

In the late Warring States period, Prince Dan of Yan was held hostage in Qin. He had a conflict with King Ying Zheng of Qin and was subsequently imprisoned.

Prince Dan requested to be allowed to return to his home country. King Qin replied, "Only when the crow's head turns white and the horse grows horns will I agree." Prince Dan could only sigh to the heavens.

Perhaps fate intervened, as a white-headed crow flew outside his prison cell. Reluctantly, King Qin had to send Prince Dan back to Yan.

Idioms Related to 乌白马角

Synonyms of 乌白马角

  • wū乌tóu头bái白,,mǎ马shēng生jué角An impossibility; something that will never happen

More idioms starting with 乌

  • wū乌qī七bā八zāo糟in a terrible mess
  • wū乌zhī之cí雌xióng雄unable to distinguish good from evil
  • wū乌yún云yā压dǐng顶impending crisis or great pressure
  • wū乌hé合zhī之zhòng众disorganized rabble
  • wū乌hé合zhī之zú卒a disorganized and undisciplined crowd
  • wū乌tiān天hēi黑dì地utterly dark, chaotic, or degenerate
  • wū乌tóu头bái白mǎ马shēng生jiǎo角An absurd impossibility
  • wū乌tóu头mǎ马jiǎo角something utterly impossible
  • wū乌mào帽hóng红qún裙men and women in general
  • wū乌yǒu有xiān先shēng生a fictitious person or thing
  • wū乌qī漆mò墨hēi黑pitch-dark

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Questions about 乌白马角

What does 乌白马角 mean?

乌白马角 (wū bái mǎ jiǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to utterly impossible or highly improbable events”.

How do you pronounce 乌白马角?

乌白马角 is pronounced wū bái mǎ jiǎo in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 乌白马角 literally mean?

Literally, 乌白马角 means “Crows turn white and horses grow horns”. It is used to mean “refers to utterly impossible or highly improbable events”.

Where does 乌白马角 come from?

乌白马角 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 乌白马角?

乌鸦变白,马头生角。比喻不能实现之事。

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