yóu yán bù jìndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) impervious to persuasion / unreceptive / impossible to get through to
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-3a176b9e2c6b0b16. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

油鹽不進 油盐不进 [you2 yan2 bu4 jin4] /(idiom) impervious to persuasion; unreceptive; impossible to get through to/

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: 油鹽不進

  • 油
    yóu

    oil / fat / grease / petroleum / to apply tung oil, paint or varnish / oily / greasy / glib / cunning

  • 盐
    yán

    salt / CL:粒[lì]

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 进
    jìn

    to go forward / to advance / to go in / to enter / to put in / to submit / to take in / to admit / (math.) base of a number system / classifier for sections in a building or residential compound

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.