初生牛犊不怕虎

初生牛犢不怕虎

chūshēngniúdúbúpàhǔ

idiom

Meanings

1 newborn calves aren't afraid of tigers
2 the young are fearless
3 naive courage from inexperience

Characters

初

chū

at the beginning, newly

Examples

HSK 6

年轻人初生牛犊不怕虎，敢闯敢拼。

Niánqīngrén chūshēngniúdúbúpàhǔ, gǎn chuǎng gǎn pīn.

Young people are fearless and willing to take risks.

HSK 7-9

他刚毕业就敢跟老板顶嘴，真是初生牛犊不怕虎。

Tā gāng bìyè jiù gǎn gēn lǎobǎn dǐngzuǐ, zhēnshì chūshēngniúdúbúpàhǔ.

He just graduated and already talks back to the boss - a real case of newborn calves not fearing tigers.

Tips

history

Imagery traces to 《庄子·知北游》, which compares a sage's clear mind to a newborn calf that hasn't yet learned what to fear.

usage

Can be praise (bold, energetic youth) or gentle mockery (reckless because they don't know better) - context decides.

Stroke Order

初 chū

生 shēng

牛 niú

犊 dú

不 bù

怕 pà

虎 hǔ