牛刀小试
niú dāo xiǎo shì
Pinyin

Definition

牛刀小试
 - 
niú dāo xiǎo shì
  1. see 小試牛刀|小试牛刀[xiǎo shì niú dāo]

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

小
xiǎo
  1. 1 small
  2. 2 tiny
  3. 3 few
  4. 4 young
小小
xiǎo xiǎo
  1. 1 very small
  2. 2 very few
  3. 3 very minor
小时
xiǎo shí
  1. 1 hour
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
牛
Niú
  1. 1 surname Niu
公牛
gōng niú
  1. 1 bull
刀
Dāo
  1. 1 surname Dao
刀剑
dāo jiàn
  1. 1 sword
刀子
dāo zi
  1. 1 knife
  2. 2 CL:把[bǎ]
剪刀
jiǎn dāo
  1. 1 scissors
  2. 2 CL:把[bǎ]
吹牛
chuī niú
  1. 1 to talk big
  2. 2 to shoot off one's mouth
  3. 3 to chat (dialect)
大刀
dà dāo
  1. 1 broadsword
  2. 2 large knife
  3. 3 machete
大大小小
dà dà xiǎo xiǎo
  1. 1 large and small
  2. 2 of all sizes
大小
dà xiǎo
  1. 1 dimension
  2. 2 magnitude
  3. 3 size
  4. 4 measurement
  5. 5 large and small
  6. 6 at any rate
  7. 7 adults and children
  8. 8 consideration of seniority
奶牛
nǎi niú
  1. 1 milk cow
  2. 2 dairy cow
小三
xiǎo sān
  1. 1 mistress
  2. 2 the other woman (coll.)
  3. 3 grade 3 in elementary school
小丑
xiǎo chǒu
  1. 1 clown
小事
xiǎo shì
  1. 1 trifle
  2. 2 trivial matter
  3. 3 CL:點|点[diǎn]
小伙
xiǎo huǒ
  1. 1 young guy
  2. 2 lad
  3. 3 youngster
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
小伙子
xiǎo huǒ zi
  1. 1 young man
  2. 2 young guy
  3. 3 lad
  4. 4 youngster
  5. 5 CL:個|个[gè]
小便
xiǎo biàn
  1. 1 to urinate
  2. 2 to pass water
  3. 3 urine

Idioms (20)

一刀两断
yī dāo liǎng duàn
  1. 1 lit. two segments with a single cut (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to make a clean break (idiom)
一刀切
yī dāo qiē
  1. 1 lit. to cut all at one stroke (idiom); to impose uniformity
  2. 2 one solution fits a diversity of problems
  3. 3 one size fits all
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
  1. 1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
  3. 3 sandwich generation
不拘小节
bù jū xiǎo jié
  1. 1 to not bother about trifles (idiom)
九牛一毛
jiǔ niú yī máo
  1. 1 lit. one hair from nine oxen (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. a drop in the ocean
九牛二虎之力
jiǔ niú èr hǔ zhī lì
  1. 1 tremendous strength (idiom)
人为刀俎，我为鱼肉
rén wéi dāo zǔ , wǒ wéi yú ròu
  1. 1 lit. to be the meat on sb's chopping block (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be at sb's mercy
以小人之心，度君子之腹
yǐ xiǎo rén zhī xīn , duó jūn zǐ zhī fù
  1. 1 to gauge the heart of a gentleman with one's own mean measure (idiom)
以小挤大
yǐ xiǎo jǐ dà
  1. 1 minor projects eclipse major ones (idiom)
借刀杀人
jiè dāo shā rén
  1. 1 to lend sb a knife to kill sb
  2. 2 to get sb else to do one's dirty work
  3. 3 to attack using the strength of another (idiom)
两肋插刀
liǎng lèi chā dāo
  1. 1 lit. knifes piercing both sides (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to attach a great importance to friendship, up to the point of being able to sacrifice oneself for it
两面三刀
liǎng miàn sān dāo
  1. 1 two-faced, three knives (idiom); double-cross
  2. 2 double dealing and back stabbing
刀不磨要生锈，人不学要落后
dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu
  1. 1 a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)
刀子嘴，豆腐心
dāo zi zuǐ , dòu fu xīn
  1. 1 to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart (idiom)
刀山火海
dāo shān huǒ hǎi
  1. 1 lit. mountains of daggers and seas of flames
  2. 2 fig. extreme danger (idiom)
刀枪不入
dāo qiāng bù rù
  1. 1 lit. impervious to sword or spear (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. invulnerable
  3. 3 untouchable
  4. 4 thick-skinned
  5. 5 impervious to criticism
刀锯斧钺
dāo jù fǔ yuè
  1. 1 knife, saw, ax and hatchet (idiom); facing torture and execution
初生牛犊不怕虎
chū shēng niú dú bù pà hǔ
  1. 1 lit. newborn calves do not fear tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the young are fearless
割鸡焉用牛刀
gē jī yān yòng niú dāo
  1. 1 lit. why use a pole-ax to slaughter a chicken? (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to waste effort on a trifling matter
  3. 3 also written 殺雞焉用牛刀|杀鸡焉用牛刀[shā jī yān yòng niú dāo]
升斗小民
shēng dǒu xiǎo mín
  1. 1 poor people (idiom)
  2. 2 those who live from hand to mouth

Sample Sentences