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班門弄斧

简 班门弄斧 · 繁 班門弄斧
Mandarin · pinyin Bān mén nòng fǔ

Meanings

  1. to display one's slight skill before an expert (idiom)
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Characters in this entry

班
bān · class, group, grade; squad; job
門
mén · gate, door, entrance, opening; Kangxi radical 169
弄
nòng · do, play or fiddle with; alley
斧
fǔ · axe, hatchet; chop, hew
门
mén · gate, door, entrance, opening
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 班門弄斧 ↗Words written with 班 ↗Words written with 門 ↗Words written with 弄 ↗Words written with 斧 ↗Words written with 门 ↗

Mandarin tones

1–2–4–3 · Ban1 men2 nong4 fu3

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

baan1 mun4 lung6 fu2

Cantonese word readings for 班門弄斧. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

baan1 mun4 lung6 fu2

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

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (sometimes humble) to show off one's inferior talent or skill in front of an expert
  2. (idiomatic) to teach an expert how to do things

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack