马角乌白 — “Impossible things to happen”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 马角乌白?

乌鸦变白，马头生角。比喻不能实现之事。

马角乌白 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “impossible things to happen”. Something that will never come true; an utterly impossible event. Literally, “horses grow horns and crows turn white”.

Frequency

马角乌白 Pronunciation and Pinyin

马角乌白 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
马	mǎ	3	horse, big, large
角	jiǎo	7	horn, corner, angle, role, dime
乌	wū	4	crow, black, nothing, alas
白	bái	5	white, bright, clear

Example Sentence with 马角乌白

要想让他放弃这个机会，简直是马角乌白，他早就下定决心了

To make him give up this opportunity is as impossible as horses growing horns and crows turning white; he has already made up his mind.

Origin and Story of 马角乌白

During the late Warring States period, the Qin and Yan states maintained a superficial peace, exchanging royal princes as hostages.

Crown Prince Dan of Yan was held hostage in Qin, where King Ying Zheng treated him with extreme rudeness and disdain.

Prince Dan pleaded with the King of Qin for permission to return to Yan, but the King replied that he would only allow it if horses grew horns and crows turned white.

Prince Dan eventually escaped back to Yan and dispatched Jing Ke to assassinate the King of Qin.