小试牛刀 xiǎo shì niú dāo

to show a bit of one's skill; try out ability

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 42907th word

Definitions

  1. 1. to give a small demonstration of one's impressive skills (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
小 xiǎo HSK 1
small; young; tiny
试 shì HSK 2
to try; to test; test
牛 niú HSK 2
cow; ox; bull
刀 dāo HSK 4
knife; blade; classifier for knife cuts or stabs