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鶏を割くになんぞ牛刀を用いん. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
鶏を割くになんぞ牛刀を用いん, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
鶏を割くになんぞ牛刀を用いん in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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鶏を割くになんぞ牛刀を用いん, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Etymology
From the Analects of Confucius, a calque of Literary Chinese 割雞焉用牛刀 (gējī yān yòng niúdāo, literally “why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken?”).
Proverb
鶏を割くになんぞ牛刀を用いん • (niwatori o saku ni nanzo gyūtō o mochiin)
- something big is not necessary to handle small problems
- Synonyms: 牛刀をもって鶏を割く (gyūtō o motte niwatori o saku), 鶏を割くにいずくんぞ牛刀を用いん (niwatori o saku ni izukunzo gyūtō o mochiin)