📖 Meaning
This idiom means to talk nonsense or speak blindly without any basis. It uses the absurd image of mismatched animal parts to characterize incoherent or ridiculous statements. It is commonly used to dismiss someone's unfounded or absurd claims.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom draws on the imagery of mismatched animal body parts—a donkey's lip and a horse's mouth—to convey speech that fails to hold together logically. It is considered a variant of the more widely known expression '驴唇不对马嘴' (donkey lips don't match a horse's mouth). No specific literary source or historical anecdote is documented for this exact form. The metaphor relies on the visual absurdity of combining unrelated animal features to represent nonsensical talk. It has circulated in vernacular Chinese as a colorful way to dismiss foolish or incoherent speech.
💡 Example Usage
他刚才说的那些都是驴唇马觜，毫无根据。
What he just said was all nonsense, completely without basis.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 驴唇马觜
- Pinyin: lǘ chún mǎ zī
- Literal Translation: donkey lip, horse mouth
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4