杀鸡焉用牛刀

Traditional: 殺雞焉用牛刀

shā jī yān yòng niú dāo

Dictionary entry

(lit.) why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?; (fig.) there's no need to use great ability or resources for a trivial task

What does 杀鸡焉用牛刀 mean?

杀鸡焉用牛刀 (shā jī yān yòng niú dāo) has the following dictionary meaning.

1(lit.) why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?; (fig.) there's no need to use great ability or resources for a trivial task

Character breakdown

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杀shāto kill; to slay; to murder; to attack · to weaken; to reduce 鸡jīfowl · chicken 焉yānwhere · how 用yòngto use; to make use of; to employ · (coverb) with; using 牛Niúsurname Niu 刀Dāosurname Dao

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 杀鸡焉用牛刀

杀鸡焉用牛刀

shā jī yān yòng niú dāo

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.