非驴非马 — “Describes something that is neither one thing nor another”
非驴非马 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes something that is neither one thing nor another”. Incongruous; inappropriate; ill-matched; neither fish nor fowl. Literally, “not donkey not horse”.
Frequency
非驴非马 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 非fēi
- 驴lǘ
- 非fēi
- 马mǎ
非驴非马 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 非驴非马
他设计的这个产品造型独特，却显得非驴非马，让人不知所云。
The product he designed has a unique shape, but it looks neither fish nor fowl, leaving people puzzled.
Origin and Story of 非驴非马
During the Han Dynasty, there was a king named Jiangbin from the Western Region's Guizi kingdom. He visited the Han court multiple times during Emperor Xuan's reign.
He was particularly fond of Han culture and vigorously promoted it upon his return to his own country.
This approach was vastly different from the traditional customs of the Western Regions. People considered his somewhat ambiguous efforts as being like a mule, a crossbreed of a donkey and a horse, neither one nor the other.
Idioms Related to 非驴非马
Antonyms of 非驴非马
More idioms starting with 非
- fēi非qīn亲fēi非gù故neither kin nor acquaintance
- fēi非rén人bù不chuán传teach only the right candidate
- fēi非fèn分zhī之niàn念improper thoughts or desires
- fēi非fèn分zhī之xiǎng想covet what is beyond one's proper share
- fēi非fèn分zhī之cái财ill-gotten gains
- fēi非xíng刑diào吊kǎo拷inflict brutal unlawful torture
- fēi非xíng刑kǎo拷dǎ打torture unlawfully to extort a confession
- fēi非xíng刑bī逼kǎo拷extort confession by cruel torture
- fēi非tóng同ér儿xì戏no child's play
- fēi非tóng同xún寻cháng常extraordinary and remarkable
- fēi非tóng同xiǎo小kě可of great importance
- fēi非tóng同děng等xián闲not to be treated lightly
Questions about 非驴非马
- What does 非驴非马 mean?
- 非驴非马 (fēi lǘ fēi mǎ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes something that is neither one thing nor another”.
- How do you pronounce 非驴非马?
- 非驴非马 is pronounced fēi lǘ fēi mǎ in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 非驴非马 literally mean?
- Literally, 非驴非马 means “not donkey not horse”. It is used to mean “describes something that is neither one thing nor another”.
- Where does 非驴非马 come from?
- 非驴非马 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 非驴非马?
- 不是驴也不是马。比喻不伦不类，什么也不象。