初生牛犊不怕虎

初生牛犢不怕虎

chūshēngniúdúbùpàhǔ

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

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 chūshēngniúdúbùpàhǔ.

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

年轻人初生牛犊不怕虎，敢闯敢拼。

Niánqīngrén chūshēngniúdúbùpàhǔ, gǎn chuǎng gǎn pīn.

Young people are fearless and willing to take risks.

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