不稂不莠 — “Useless”
不稂不莠 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Useless”. Good-for-nothing; not amounting to anything; unpromising. Literally, “Neither barnyard grass nor foxtail grass; without weeds or wild grasses”.
不稂不莠 Pronunciation and Pinyin
不稂不莠 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 不稂不莠
Origin and Story of 不稂不莠
The Book of Songs, China's earliest anthology of poetry, contains a poem titled 'Datian' (The Great Field) which reflects agricultural life in the Western Zhou Dynasty.
The poet expresses joy over a bountiful harvest brought by favorable weather: 'The grains have formed husks, growing strong and perfect, with no barnyard grass or foxtail grass. We remove pests like green worms and silk worms, not letting them harm our crops. O God of Millet, being spiritual, quickly cast them into the fire!'
Idioms Related to 不稂不莠
Synonyms of 不稂不莠
More idioms starting with 不
- bù不yī一ér而zú足numerous and varied, impossible to list all
- bù不sān三bù不sì四improper or disreputable
- bù不shàng上bù不xià下stuck in an awkward position
- bù不shàng上bù不luò落in an awkward or embarrassing situation
- bù不shì世zhī之yè业unparalleled achievements
- bù不shì世zhī之chóu仇unrivaled enmity
- bù不shì世zhī之gōng功unparalleled achievement
- bù不shì世zhī之lüè略unparalleled strategy
- bù不sàng丧bǐ匕chàng鬯peace and order, rituals undisturbed
- bù不fēng丰bù不jiǎn俭neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不fēng丰bù不shā杀neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不wèi为wǔ五dǒu斗mǐ米zhé折yāo腰Refuse to compromise integrity for meager gain
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Open the tool →Questions about 不稂不莠
What does 不稂不莠 mean?
不稂不莠 (bù láng bù yǒu) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Useless”.
How do you pronounce 不稂不莠?
不稂不莠 is pronounced bù láng bù yǒu in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 不稂不莠 literally mean?
Literally, 不稂不莠 means “Neither barnyard grass nor foxtail grass; without weeds or wild grasses”. It is used to mean “Useless”.
Where does 不稂不莠 come from?
不稂不莠 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 不稂不莠?
稂：狼尾草；莠：狗尾草。本指禾苗中中无野草。后比喻人不成才，没出息。