牛頭不對馬嘴

Chinese

		ox; cow; bull	head; (noun suffix)	not; no	couple; pair; to be opposite couple; pair; to be opposite; to oppose; to face; for; to; correct (answer); to answer; to reply; to direct (towards something); right	horse; surname	mouth
trad. (牛頭不對馬嘴)		牛	頭	不	對	馬	嘴
simp. (牛头不对马嘴)		牛	头	不	对	马	嘴

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): niútóubùduìmǎzuǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄊㄡˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄇㄚˇ ㄗㄨㄟˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngau⁴ tau⁴ bat¹ deoi³ maa⁵ zeoi²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: niútóubùduìmǎzuǐ [Phonetic: niútóubúduìmázuǐ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄊㄡˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄇㄚˇ ㄗㄨㄟˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nióutóubùduèimǎzuěi
    • Wade–Giles: niu²-tʻou²-pu⁴-tui⁴-ma³-tsui³
    • Yale: nyóu-tóu-bù-dwèi-mǎ-dzwěi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nioutourbudueymaatzoei
    • Palladius: нютоубудуймацзуй (njutoubudujmaczuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ mä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡su̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngau⁴ tau⁴ bat¹ deoi³ maa⁵ zeoi²
    • Yale: ngàuh tàuh bāt deui máh jéui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngau⁴ tau⁴ bat⁷ doey³ maa⁵ dzoey²
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngeo⁴ teo⁴ bed¹ dêu³ ma⁵ zêu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɐu̯²¹ tʰɐu̯²¹ pɐt̚⁵ tɵy̯³³ maː¹³ t͡sɵy̯³⁵/

Idiom

牛頭不對馬嘴

1. 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 edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		驢脣不對馬嘴, 驢頭不對馬嘴, 牛頭不對馬嘴
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	驢脣不對馬嘴
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	六不答對
Cantonese	Hong Kong	牛頭唔搭馬嘴
Hakka	Meixian	話三唔話兩