马角乌头 — “An utter impossibility”
马角乌头 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an utter impossibility”. Something that will never happen. Literally, “Horse horns, crow's white head”.
马角乌头 Pronunciation and Pinyin
马角乌头 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 马角乌头
Origin and Story of 马角乌头
In the late Warring States period, the states of Qin and Yan outwardly maintained friendly relations, exchanging royal princes as hostages. Prince Dan of Yan was a hostage in Qin, and King Ying Zheng of Qin treated him with great disrespect and contempt.
Prince Dan requested permission from the Qin King to return to Yan. The King replied that he could only return when horses grew horns and crows turned white.
Prince Dan then escaped back to Yan and dispatched Jing Ke to assassinate the Qin King.
Idioms Related to 马角乌头
Synonyms of 马角乌头
More idioms starting with 马
- mǎ马shàng上gōng功chéng成achieve success quickly, often by military conquest
- mǎ马shàng上qiáng墙tóu头a romantic rendezvous spot
- mǎ马shàng上dé得tiān天xià下win an empire on horseback
- mǎ马shàng上fáng房zi子overtly agree, covertly oppose
- mǎ马shàng上kàn看huā花to observe things superficially
- mǎ马bù不tíng停tí蹄advancing tirelessly without stopping
- mǎ马bù不jiě解ān鞍to work without rest
- mǎ马zhōng中guān关wǔ五typographical or scribal errors
- mǎ马yǎng仰rén人fān翻utter chaos and confusion
- mǎ马rù入huà华shān山universal peace and tranquility
- mǎ马dào到gōng功chéng成achieve instant success
- mǎ马dào到chéng成gōng功instant success
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Open the tool →Questions about 马角乌头
What does 马角乌头 mean?
马角乌头 (mǎ jiǎo wū tóu) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an utter impossibility”.
How do you pronounce 马角乌头?
马角乌头 is pronounced mǎ jiǎo wū tóu in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 马角乌头 literally mean?
Literally, 马角乌头 means “Horse horns, crow's white head”. It is used to mean “an utter impossibility”.
Where does 马角乌头 come from?
马角乌头 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 马角乌头?
乌鸦变白，马头生角。比喻不能实现之事。