xiǎo shì niú dāodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to give a small demonstration of one's impressive skills (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1cdf9c75e7d85578. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

小試牛刀 小试牛刀 [xiao3 shi4 niu2 dao1] /to give a small demonstration of one's impressive skills (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 小試牛刀

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.