牛刀小试
niú​dāo​xiǎo​shì

to show a bit of one's talent

  • created reference approved 牛刀小试/牛刀小試 → 大显身手/大顯身手 (synonym) — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    牛刀小试 / 牛刀小試 niú​dāo​xiǎo​shì

    大显身手 / 大顯身手 dà​xiǎn​shēn​shǒu

    synonym

    Changed: source (simp), source (trad), source pinyin, target (simp), target (trad), target pinyin, type

    created reference

  • created sense approved 牛刀小试/牛刀小試 · niú​dāo​xiǎo​shì · to show a bit of one's talent — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    牛刀小试 / 牛刀小試

    niú​dāo​xiǎo​shì

    to show a bit of one's talent

    A first small demonstration of the impressive skills of a person with great talent; originally referred to using a large cleaver to perform a minor task

    牛刀 (literal) → 牛刀 · niú​dāo · butcher's knife 小试 (literal) → 小试/小試 · xiǎo​shì · to try briefly

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense