DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

割雞焉用牛刀

简割鸡焉用牛刀 · 繁割雞焉用牛刀

Mandarin · pinyin gē jī yān yòng niú dāo

Characters in this entry

割: gē · cut, divide, partition; cede
雞: jī · chickens; domestic fowl
焉: yān · thereupon, then; how? why? where?
用: yòng · use, employ, apply, operate; use
牛: niú · cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
刀: dāo · knife; old coin; measure
鸡: jī · chicken

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

1–1–1–4–2–1 · ge1 ji1 yan1 yong4 niu2 dao1

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

7character links1source reference

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

got3 gai1 jin1 jung6 ngau4 dou1

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

(rhetorical question) something of a big calibre is not necessary to handle small or minor problems; why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut