牵马到河易，强马饮水难 qiān mǎ dào hé yì ， qiǎng mǎ yǐn shuǐ nán

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. (idiom)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
牵 qiān HSK 6
to lead along; to pull (an animal on a tether); to draw in
马 mǎ HSK 3
horse; surname Ma
到 dào HSK 2
(verb complement denoting completion or result of an action)
河 hé HSK 3
river
易 yì HSK 3
easy; to change; to exchange
强 qiǎng HSK 5
strong; powerful; better
马 mǎ HSK 3
horse; surname Ma
饮 yǐn HSK 3
to drink; old variant of 飲yǐn
水 shuǐ HSK 1
water; liquid; beverage
难 nán HSK 3
difficult; difficult (to...); difficulty