DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

牛頭不對馬嘴

简牛头不对马嘴 · 繁牛頭不對馬嘴

Mandarin · pinyin niú tóu bù duì mǎ zuǐ

Characters in this entry

牛: niú · cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
對: duì · correct, right; facing, opposed
馬: Look up this written character
嘴: zuǐ · mouth, lips
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
对: duì · correct, right; facing, opposed
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187

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

2–2–4–4–3–3 · niu2 tou2 bu4 dui4 ma3 zui3

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

9character links

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

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

ngau4 tau4 bat1 deoi3 maa5 zeoi2

Cantonese word readings for 牛頭不對馬嘴. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

ngau4 tau4 bat1 deoi3 maa5 zeoi2

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.

(idiomatic) the answer is totally irrelevant to the question; a square peg cannot fit into a round hole; to be beside the point