對duì牛niú彈tán琴qín——bái——白fèi費kǒu口shé舌

What does 對牛彈琴——白費口舌 (duì niú tán qín——bái fèi kǒu shé) mean?

對牛彈琴——白費口舌 (duì niú tán qín——bái fèi kǒu shé) is a two-part riddle-saying (xiēhòuyǔ 歇後語). Word for word it reads "Playing the lute to a cow-a waste of breath." In use it means: Addressing a sophisticated message to someone incapable of appreciating it. The fault may lie with the speaker for choosing the wrong audience, not necessarily with the listener. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.

Literally: "Playing the lute to a cow-a waste of breath.."

The reading

Communication fails not when the message is flawed but when it lands on ears that were never tuned to receive it. The musician's skill is real, but skill without a fitting audience is a performance for the wind. Choosing whom to speak to is as important as choosing what to say. Frustration at being unheard sometimes says more about the speaker's stubbornness than the listener's ignorance. The wisest communicator adjusts the song to the room.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typexiēhòuyǔ 歇後語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element木 Wood
• Zodiac tie牛 Year of the Ox

Source Classical xiehouyu derived from Buddhist parable, attributed to Mouzi Lihuo Lun

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.