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杀鸡焉用牛刀

shā jī yān yòng niú dāodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(lit.) why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken? / (fig.) there's no need to use great ability or resources for a trivial task
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-275f9da6081a3ef9. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

殺雞焉用牛刀 杀鸡焉用牛刀 [sha1 ji1 yan1 yong4 niu2 dao1] /(lit.) why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?; (fig.) there's no need to use great ability or resources for a trivial task/

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: 殺雞焉用牛刀

  • 杀
    shā

    to kill / to slay / to murder / to attack / to weaken / to reduce / (dialect) to smart / (used after a verb) extremely

  • 鸡
    jī

    fowl / chicken / CL:隻|只[zhī] / (slang) prostitute

  • 焉
    yān

    where / how

  • 用
    yòng

    to use / to make use of / to employ / (coverb) with / using / to need / to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions) / usefulness / utility / (bound form) expense / outlay / (courteous) to eat / to drink / (literary) hence / therefore

  • 牛
    niú

    ox / cow / bull / CL:條|条[tiáo],頭|头[tóu] / newton (abbr. for 牛頓|牛顿[niú dùn]) / (slang) awesome

    Niú

    surname Niu

  • 刀
    dāo

    knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass (CL:把[bǎ]) / (slang) (loanword) dollar / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs / (Internet slang) to bargain / to ask for a small discount (esp. on second-hand marketplaces) / (Internet slang) to knife (sb) (often used hyperbolically, as in 想刀他[xiǎng dāo tā] "I could kill him!")

    Dāo

    surname Dao

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.