牛刀小試 niúdāoxiǎoshì to show a bit of one's talent Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 牛刀 niúdāo butcher's knife a knife used for slaughtering cattle小试 小試 xiǎoshì to try briefly To make a casual trial; to test something out for the first time or in a limited way.