Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
班门弄斧
English translation:
Teach fish how to swim
Added to glossary by
Stefanie Sendelbach
Jan 7, 2005 17:37
19 yrs ago
Chinese term
班门弄斧
Chinese to English
Other
Linguistics
What is the comprable English saying?
The ChinaDaily site translates it as "teach one's grandma to suck eggs". My goodness!
The ChinaDaily site translates it as "teach one's grandma to suck eggs". My goodness!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +8 | A few suggestions |
Stefanie Sendelbach
|
| 3 +1 | FYI teach your grandmother to suck eggs |
chica nueva
|
Proposed translations
+8
1 hr
Stefanie Sendelbach
Germany
Germany
Works in field
Germany
IT and marketing translations
Native in: German 
Works in: English to German, German, Portuguese to German
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Chinese term (edited):
����Ū��
Selected
A few suggestions
- show off one's skill with the axe before Lu Ban (the master carpenter)
- show off one's skill before an expert
- parade one's learning before a great scholear
- teach fish (how) to swim
These are all taken from A New Century Chinese-English Dictionary (Foreign Language Teaching and Reseach Press)
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Note added at 1 hr 46 mins (2005-01-07 19:23:47 GMT)
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Kingsoft Powerword gives: \"To display one\'s slight skill before an expert\"
*********
Of course it should read \"scholar\" instead of \"scholear\", sorry.
- show off one's skill before an expert
- parade one's learning before a great scholear
- teach fish (how) to swim
These are all taken from A New Century Chinese-English Dictionary (Foreign Language Teaching and Reseach Press)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 46 mins (2005-01-07 19:23:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Kingsoft Powerword gives: \"To display one\'s slight skill before an expert\"
*********
Of course it should read \"scholar\" instead of \"scholear\", sorry.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Will Wong
29 mins
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Thanks. I personally like the one with the fish best.
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| agree |
AlanG (X)
: This phrase can also be found in "The Pinyin Chinese-English Dictionary", Wu Jingrong ed.
58 mins
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Thanks, Alan.
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| agree |
Will Matter
: Like teaching Wing Chuns' Bil Jee form to Ip Man or teaching Li Ching-Yun how to breathe or helping Cheng Man Ching to "improve" his push hands technique. You get the idea.
1 hr
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| agree |
Denyce Seow
: I like your last one. However I must say that "teach one's grandma to suck eggs" is a valid saying.
1 hr
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| agree |
Francis Fine
: A comparable and established English saying? "To haul coal to New Castle" is all I can think of at the moment.
1 hr
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| agree |
Edward LIU
6 hrs
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| agree |
Shang
7 hrs
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Thank you, everybody.
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| agree |
English Chinese Medical Translator - Jimmy Deng
1 day 3 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think "Teach Fish how to Swim" is close enough. "
+1
1 day 15 hrs
chica nueva
Native in English
Works in field
http://youtube/iraVWQu3Zf8
Native in: English (Variants: British, New Zealand)
Works in: Chinese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Chinese term (edited):
����Ū��
FYI teach your grandmother to suck eggs
It refers specifically to telling someone how to do something/what to do in a situation/etc.
teach your grandmother to suck eggs (UK disapproving) = to give advice to someone about a subject that they already know more about than you
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Note added at 1 day 16 hrs 2 mins (2005-01-09 09:40:01 GMT)
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班门弄斧 = display one\'s slight skill before an expert eg 在你面前班门弄斧,太不好意思了. I\'m making a fool of myself trying to show off before an expert like you.
=> \'show off in front of an expert\'(外研社\"汉英词典)
show off =
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Note added at 1 day 16 hrs 3 mins (2005-01-09 09:40:45 GMT)
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make a fool of oneself trying to show off in front of an expert
teach your grandmother to suck eggs (UK disapproving) = to give advice to someone about a subject that they already know more about than you
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Note added at 1 day 16 hrs 2 mins (2005-01-09 09:40:01 GMT)
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班门弄斧 = display one\'s slight skill before an expert eg 在你面前班门弄斧,太不好意思了. I\'m making a fool of myself trying to show off before an expert like you.
=> \'show off in front of an expert\'(外研社\"汉英词典)
show off =
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Note added at 1 day 16 hrs 3 mins (2005-01-09 09:40:45 GMT)
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make a fool of oneself trying to show off in front of an expert
Reference:
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