小试牛刀 — “A small test of an ox-slaughtering knife”
小试牛刀 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to try one's hand at a task, often implying that one is capable of much greater things; to make a small display of one's abilities”. Literally, “a small test of an ox-slaughtering knife”.
小试牛刀 Pronunciation and Pinyin
小试牛刀 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 小试牛刀
Idioms Related to 小试牛刀
Synonyms of 小试牛刀
More idioms starting with 小
- xiǎo小bù不rěn忍zé则luàn乱dà大móu谋Impatience in small things spoils great plans
- xiǎo小chǒu丑tiào跳liáng梁Insignificant villains stirring up mischief
- xiǎo小zhōng中jiàn见dà大see the big in the small
- xiǎo小rén人dé得zhì志petty person achieves success
- xiǎo小xìn信wèi未fú孚Small trust not yet convinced
- xiǎo小tōu偷xiǎo小mō摸to engage in petty theft
- xiǎo小ér儿pò破zéi贼youngster achieves great accomplishments
- xiǎo小guān冠zi子xià夏a person with poor eyesight
- xiǎo小shòu受dà大zǒu走endure minor punishment, flee severe beating
- xiǎo小qì器yì易yíng盈narrow-minded, easily conceited
- xiǎo小guó国guǎ寡mín民small country with few people
- xiǎo小dà大yóu由zhī之applicable to both large and small matters
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Open the tool →Questions about 小试牛刀
What does 小试牛刀 mean?
小试牛刀 (xiǎo shì niú dāo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to try one's hand at a task, often implying that one is capable of much greater things; to make a small display of one's abilities”.
How do you pronounce 小试牛刀?
小试牛刀 is pronounced xiǎo shì niú dāo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 小试牛刀 literally mean?
Literally, 小试牛刀 means “a small test of an ox-slaughtering knife”. It is used to mean “to try one's hand at a task, often implying that one is capable of much greater things; to make a small display of one's abilities”.
What is the Chinese definition of 小试牛刀?
稍微用一下宰牛的刀。比喻有大才的人在小事上试一下身手