屠龙

屠龍

túlóng

verb #30,054

Meanings

1 to slay a dragon
2 (figurative) to pursue a formidable but futile goal

Characters

to slaughter; to butcher

Examples

传说中的英雄去屠龙，最终拯救了公主。

Chuánshuō zhōng de yīngxióng qù túlóng, zuìzhōng zhěngjiù le gōngzhǔ.

The hero in the legend went to slay the dragon and ultimately saved the princess.

「屠龙之术」比喻学了无用的技艺。

" Túlóng zhī shù " bǐyù xué le wúyòng de jìyì.

「The art of dragon-slaying」 is a metaphor for learning a useless skill.

Tips

culture

屠龙之术 (the art of slaying dragons) comes from Zhuangzi: a man spent three years mastering dragon-slaying, only to find that dragons do not exist. It symbolizes mastering a skill with no practical application.

Stroke Order

屠 tú

龙 lóng