Learn About Chinese Language: To Rush Into A Dead End

By Author: james toma
Total Articles: 86
Comment this article

From our Chinese classes, we know that Chinese idioms often contain a deep meaning. Today I will show you the Chinese idiom: To rush into a dead end. It is about a mouse.
Yìzhī lǎoshǔ zuāndào niújiǎojiān lǐ le. Tā pǎo bù chūlái, què hái pīnmìng wǎng lǐ zuān.
一只 老鼠 钻到 牛角尖 里了。它 跑 不 出来， 却 还 拼命 往 里 钻。
Niújiǎo duì tā shuō: "Péngyou, qǐng tuì chūqu, nǐ yuè wǎng lǐ zuān, lù yuè zhǎi."
牛角 对 它 说：“朋友， 请 退 出去，你 越 往 里 钻， 路 越 窄。”
Lǎoshǔ shēngqì de shuō: "Hēng! Wǒ shì bǎizhébùnáo de yīngxióng, zhǐyǒu qiánjìn, jué bù hòutuì."
...
... 老鼠 生气 地 说：“哼！我 是 百折不挠 的 英雄， 只有 前进，决 不 后退！”
Niújiǎo shuō: "Kěshì nǐ de lù zǒu cuò le a!"
牛角 说：“可是 你 的 路 走 错 了啊！”
Lǎoshǔ háishì jiānchí zìjǐ de yìjiàn: "Xièxie nǐ, wǒ yìshēng jiùshì zuāndòng guò rìzi de, zěnme huì cuò ne?"
老鼠 还是 坚持 自己的 意见，“谢谢你，我 一生 就是 钻洞 过 日子 的，怎 么 会 错 呢？
Bùjiǔ, zhèwèi "yīngxióng" biàn huóhuó mēnsǐ zài niújiǎojiān lǐ le.
不久，这位 “英雄” 便 活活 闷 死 在 牛角尖 里了。
After Chinese classes, now it is the English time: A mouse went into the tip of an ox horn and couldn't get out. The mouse was in a mad rush to go to the tip of the ox horn. The ox horn advised: "Please go back my friend. The further you go in, the narrower the road would be.” The mouse got angry: "Hum! I am the toughest of heroes. I only move forward, never back!" The ox horn said: "But you are going the wrong way." The mouse insisted: "Thank you, but I have been digging all my life. How could I be wrong?" Soon, this "hero" came to his end and suffocated in the ox horn.

The Chinese character "钻牛角尖 (zuān niújiǎojiān)" refers to someone who wastes time and effort trying to figure out an insignificant or insoluble problem. Sometimes this idiom is used to describe a narrow-minded person. Maybe your Chinese teacher would give you examples like this:
Wǒ gàosu Mike tā de fāngfǎ búduì, dàn tā bù tīng.
Tom: 我 告诉 Mike 他 的 方法 不对， 但 他不 听。
I told Mike that his idea won’t work, but he won’t listen to me.
Tā kěndìng yòu zuān niújiǎojiān le.
May: 他 肯定 又 钻 牛角尖 了。
He must run into a dead end again.
Visit this site to learn more about Chinese character, if you are just the one who interested in Chinese.
http://www.echineselearning.com/
This site has lots of professional teachers and provides a first-class teaching. Besides, they also have online summer courses for kids, too.