風馬牛不相及

See also: 风马牛不相及

Chinese
to attract to each other horse; surname ox; cow; bull not; no
trad. (風馬牛不相及) 風 馬 牛 不 相及
simp. (风马牛不相及) 风 马 牛 不 相及
Literally: “when the horses and cattle [of the distant Qi and Chu] are in heat, they cannot come close to one another [due to the great distance]”.

Etymology

A story from Zuozhuan (《左傳·僖公四年》):

楚子使與師言曰：君處北海，寡人處南海，唯是風馬牛不相及也。不虞君之涉吾地也，何故。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
楚子使与师言曰：君处北海，寡人处南海，唯是风马牛不相及也。不虞君之涉吾地也，何故。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4th century BCE, translation from Zuozhuan: Commentary on the "Spring and Autumn Annals" (2017), by Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li and David Schaberg
Chǔ Zǐ shǐ yǔ shī yán yuē: Jūn chǔ bòhǎi, guǎrén chǔ nánhǎi, wéi shì fēng mǎ niú bù xiāngjí yě. Bùyú jūn zhī shè wú dì yě, hégù. [Pinyin]
The Master of Chu sent someone to speak with the allies' troops: "Your ruler dwells near the northern sea, while I, the unworthy one, dwell near the southern sea. Even when our horses and cattle are in heat, they cannot come close to one another. So I did not expect that you would encroach upon our territory. Why have you done so?"

Pronunciation

Idiom

風馬牛不相及

  1. (of things) to have no relationship with each other whatsoever; to be totally irrelevant; apples and oranges

See also
  • 風馬牛不相干／风马牛不相干, 風馬牛不相關／风马牛不相关
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.