風馬牛不相及

See also: 风马牛不相及

Chinese

		to attract to each other	horse; surname	ox; cow; bull	not; no
trad. (風馬牛不相及)		風	馬	牛	不	相及
simp. (风马牛不相及)		风	马	牛	不	相及
Literally: “when the horses and cattle [of the distant Qi and Chu] are in heat, they cannot come close to one another [due to the great distance]”.

Etymology

A story from Zuozhuan (《左傳·僖公四年》):

楚子使與師言曰：君處北海，寡人處南海，唯是風馬牛不相及也。不虞君之涉吾地也，何故。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

楚子使与师言曰：君处北海，寡人处南海，唯是风马牛不相及也。不虞君之涉吾地也，何故。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE, translation from Zuozhuan: Commentary on the "Spring and Autumn Annals" (2017), by Stephen Durrant, Wai-yee Li and David Schaberg

Chǔ Zǐ shǐ yǔ shī yán yuē: Jūn chǔ bòhǎi, guǎrén chǔ nánhǎi, wéi shì fēng mǎ niú bù xiāngjí yě. Bùyú jūn zhī shè wú dì yě, hégù. [Pinyin]

The Master of Chu sent someone to speak with the allies' troops: "Your ruler dwells near the northern sea, while I, the unworthy one, dwell near the southern sea. Even when our horses and cattle are in heat, they cannot come close to one another. So I did not expect that you would encroach upon our territory. Why have you done so?"

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): fēng mǎ niú bù xiāngjí

  (Zhuyin): ㄈㄥ ㄇㄚˇ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄐㄧˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fung¹ maa⁵ ngau⁴ bat¹ soeng¹ kap⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hong má giû put siong-ki̍p

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fēng mǎ niú bù xiāngjí
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄥ ㄇㄚˇ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄐㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fong mǎ nióu bù siangjí
    • Wade–Giles: fêng¹ ma³ niu² pu⁴ hsiang¹-chi²
    • Yale: fēng mǎ nyóu bù syāng-jí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: feng maa niou bu shiangjyi
    • Palladius: фэн ма ню бу сянцзи (fɛn ma nju bu sjanczi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɤŋ⁵⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ pu⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fung¹ maa⁵ ngau⁴ bat¹ soeng¹ kap⁶
    • Yale: fūng máh ngàuh bāt sēung kahp
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fung¹ maa⁵ ngau⁴ bat⁷ soeng¹ kap⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: fung¹ ma⁵ ngeo⁴ bed¹ sêng¹ keb⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fʊŋ⁵⁵ maː¹³ ŋɐu̯²¹ pɐt̚⁵ sœːŋ⁵⁵ kʰɐp̚²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hong má giû put siong-ki̍p
    • Tâi-lô: hong má giû put siong-ki̍p
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hofng mar giuu pud siongkip
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² mã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ɡiu²⁴ put̚³²⁻⁴ siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² kip̚⁴/

Idiom

風馬牛不相及

1. (of things) to have no relationship with each other whatsoever; to be totally irrelevant; apples and oranges

See also

• 風馬牛不相干／风马牛不相干, 風馬牛不相關／风马牛不相关