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乌头白,马生角
乌头白,马生角
乌头白,马生角
乌头白,马生角
乌头白,马生角
乌头白,马生角
乌头白,马生角
乌头白,马生角

乌头白,马生角 — “An impossibility”

乌头白,马生角 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an impossibility”. Something that will never happen. Literally, “Crow's head turns white, horse grows horns”.

Frequency

乌头白,马生角 Pronunciation and Pinyin

乌头白,马生角 Character Breakdown

CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
乌
wū4crow, black, nothing, alas
头
tóu5head
白
bái5white, bright, clear
,,—
马
mǎ3horse, big, large
生
shēng5to be born, grow, or live
角
jué7horn, corner, angle, role, dime

Example Sentence with 乌头白,马生角

除非乌头白,马生角,否则他是不可能在截止日期前完成这个复杂项目。
Unless crows turn white and horses grow horns, it's impossible for him to complete this complex project before the deadline.

Origin and Story of 乌头白,马生角

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

Prince Dan pleaded to be released and returned to his home country. The King of Qin mockingly replied, "I will grant your request only when a crow's head turns white and a horse grows horns."

Prince Dan could only sigh to the sky in despair. Perhaps fate intervened, as a white-headed crow unexpectedly flew by outside his prison cell.

Seeing this, the King of Qin, despite his earlier words, had no choice but to send Prince Dan back to Yan.

Idioms Related to 乌头白,马生角

Synonyms of 乌头白,马生角

  • wū乌tóu头mǎ马jiǎo角something utterly impossible

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
  • wū乌dēng灯hēi黑huǒ火utterly dark without any light or fire

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Questions about 乌头白,马生角

What does 乌头白,马生角 mean?

乌头白,马生角 (wū tóu bái , mǎ shēng jué) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an impossibility”.

How do you pronounce 乌头白,马生角?

乌头白,马生角 is pronounced wū tóu bái , mǎ shēng jué in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 乌头白,马生角 literally mean?

Literally, 乌头白,马生角 means “Crow's head turns white, horse grows horns”. It is used to mean “an impossibility”.

Where does 乌头白,马生角 come from?

乌头白,马生角 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 乌头白,马生角?

比喻不可能出现的事。

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