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
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