📖 Meaning
Like a donkey braying and a dog barking. Used to describe writing or speech that is crude, clumsy, and painfully unrefined. It criticizes literary works or remarks that lack skill and grace, being mere unpleasant noise to the ear.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from 'Chaoye Qianzai' by Zhang Zhuo of the Tang Dynasty. The original passage remarks that among the writings of the time, only the stone inscription at Hanling Mountain was worth reading, while everything else was like donkey brays and dog barks—just noise that assaulted the ears. It was used to disparage inferior literary compositions. The phrase later became a metaphor for crude and unrefined writing or speech.
💡 Example Usage
这篇文章词不达意，简直是驴鸣犬吠，不堪卒读。
This article fails to convey its meaning clearly; it is like the braying of donkeys and barking of dogs, utterly unreadable.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 驴鸣犬吠
- Pinyin: lǘ míng quǎn fèi
- Literal Translation: donkey, bray, dog, bark
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4