驴鸣狗吠 — “Donkey braying and dog barking”
驴鸣狗吠 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes writing or speech that is poorly composed, clumsy, or unskillful; refers to crude or unpolished literary works or speeches”. Literally, “Donkey braying and dog barking”.
驴鸣狗吠 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 驴lǘ
- 鸣míng
- 狗gǒu
- 吠fèi
驴鸣狗吠 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 驴鸣狗吠
Origin and Story of 驴鸣狗吠
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wen Zisheng composed the 'Stele Inscription for Hanling Mountain Temple'. Yu Xin, a famous poet and official from the Southern Dynasties, read Wen's work and made a rubbing of it.
When people from the Southern Dynasties asked Yu Xin for his opinion on the literati in the North, he replied: 'Only that single stone from Hanling Mountain is worth conversing with. Xue Daoheng and Lu Sidao barely know how to hold a brush. As for the rest, it's nothing but donkey braying and dog barking, just noise to my ears.'
This idiom is used to describe writing or speech that is crude, unskillful, or poorly composed.
Idioms Related to 驴鸣狗吠
Synonyms of 驴鸣狗吠
More idioms starting with 驴
- lǘ驴qián前mǎ马hòu后Always at someone's beck and call
- lǘ驴chún唇bù不duì对mǎ马kǒu口inconsistent or irrelevant speech
- lǘ驴chún唇bù不duì对mǎ马zuǐ嘴irrelevant or incongruous
- lǘ驴chún唇mǎ马zuǐ嘴incoherent or contradictory speech
- lǘ驴chún唇mǎ马zī觜talk nonsense
- lǘ驴tóu头bù不duì对mǎ马zuǐ嘴irrelevant or a complete mismatch
- lǘ驴nián年mǎ马yuè月when pigs fly
- lǘ驴xīn心gǒu狗fèi肺cruel, vicious, and heartless
- lǘ驴shēng生jǐ戟jiǎo角something utterly impossible to happen
- lǘ驴shēng生jī笄jiǎo角an impossibility; something that will never happen
- lǘ驴gān肝fèi肺ungrateful and malicious intentions
Questions about 驴鸣狗吠
- What does 驴鸣狗吠 mean?
- 驴鸣狗吠 (lǘ míng gǒu fèi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes writing or speech that is poorly composed, clumsy, or unskillful; refers to crude or unpolished literary works or speeches”.
- How do you pronounce 驴鸣狗吠?
- 驴鸣狗吠 is pronounced lǘ míng gǒu fèi in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 驴鸣狗吠 literally mean?
- Literally, 驴鸣狗吠 means “Donkey braying and dog barking”. It is used to mean “describes writing or speech that is poorly composed, clumsy, or unskillful; refers to crude or unpolished literary works or speeches”.
- Where does 驴鸣狗吠 come from?
- 驴鸣狗吠 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 驴鸣狗吠?
- 形容文字言语拙劣。同“驴鸣犬吠”。