当 牛 作 马

dāng niú zuò mǎdictionary entry

to work like a horse and toil like an ox / fig. to slave for sb

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-7a4203018431c4b3. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

當牛作馬当牛作马 [dang1 niu2 zuo4 ma3] /to work like a horse and toil like an ox/fig. to slave for sb/

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: 當牛作馬

当
dāng
(onom.) dong / ding dong (bell) / to be / to act as / manage / withstand / when / during / ought / should / match equally / equal / same / obstruct / just at (a time or place) / on the spot / right / just at
dàng
at or in the very same... / suitable / adequate / fitting / proper / to replace / to regard as / to think / to pawn / (coll.) to fail (a student)
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
作
zuō
(bound form) worker / (bound form) workshop / (slang) troublesome / high-maintenance (person)
zuò
to do / to engage in / to write / to compose / to pretend / to feign / to regard as / to consider to be / to be / to act the part of / to feel (itchy, nauseous etc) / writings / works
马
mǎ
horse / CL:匹[pǐ] / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess
Mǎ
surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Mǎ lái xī yà]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.