牛頭唔搭馬嘴
Chinese
| ox; cow; bull | head; (noun suffix) | hold in mouth; bite; (Cant.) no/not | build (scaffolding); take (boat, train); hang build (scaffolding); take (boat, train); hang; join; match; take passage |
horse; surname | mouth | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (牛頭唔搭馬嘴) | 牛 | 頭 | 唔 | 搭 | 馬 | 嘴 | |
| simp. (牛头唔搭马嘴) | 牛 | 头 | 唔 | 搭 | 马 | 嘴 | |
Pronunciation
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: ngau4 tau4 m4 daap3 maa5 zeoi2
- Yale: ngàuh tàuh m̀h daap máh jéui
- Cantonese Pinyin: ngau4 tau4 m4 daap8 maa5 dzoey2
- Guangdong Romanization: ngeo4 teo4 m4 dab3 ma5 zêu2
- Sinological IPA (key): /ŋɐu̯²¹ tʰɐu̯²¹ m̩²¹ taːp̚³ maː¹³ t͡sɵy̯³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
牛頭唔搭馬嘴
- (Cantonese) the answer is totally irrelevant to the question; a square peg cannot fit into a round hole; to be beside the point
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 驢脣不對馬嘴 (“to be irrelevant or incongruous”) [map]
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 驢脣不對馬嘴, 驢頭不對馬嘴, 牛頭不對馬嘴 | |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 牛頭不對馬嘴 |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Luoyang | 驢脣不對馬嘴 |
| Jianghuai Mandarin | Yangzhou | 六不答對 |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 唔挐更 |
| Hong Kong | 牛頭唔搭馬嘴, 唔挐更 | |
| Hakka | Meixian | 牛頭唔對馬嘴, 話三唔話兩, 唔對路 |
| Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 豬哥搭狗𡳞 | |
| Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 豬哥搭狗𡳞 | |
| Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 豬哥搭狗𡳞 | |
| Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 豬哥搭狗𡳞 | |
| Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 豬哥搭狗𡳞 | |
| Southern Min | Shantou | 牛頭唔對馬喙 |