“对牛弹琴”常见的英语表达有:“Casting pearls before swine” 或者 “Playing the lute to a cow” 。
“Casting pearls before swine”直译为“把珍珠扔给猪”,意思是把珍贵的东西给不懂欣赏或不懂得珍惜的人,类似于“对牛弹琴”。
“Playing the lute to a cow”则更直观地表达了对着牛弹奏乐器(琴),形象地对应了“对牛弹琴”的意思。
例如:You are just casting pearls before swine by talking to him. (跟他说这些,你简直就是对牛弹琴。)
It's like playing the lute to a cow when I explain this to him. (我跟他解释这个,简直就是对牛弹琴。)