半生半熟 half-baked
Explanation
指事物没有完全成熟或未烹煮至可食用的程度。比喻对某事不熟悉，不熟练。
Refers to something that is not fully mature or not cooked until it is edible. It is used figuratively to express that one is not familiar with something or not skilled in it.
Origin Story
小李是一名新晋厨师，在一家高档餐厅工作。第一天上班，他负责制作一道招牌菜——香煎鹅肝。然而，由于经验不足，他煎鹅肝的时间把握不准，导致鹅肝有些部位半生不熟，有些部位则煎得过老。顾客品尝后，对这道菜的品质提出了质疑。小李羞愧地向主厨承认了自己的失误，并表示会认真学习，争取早日达到熟练的程度。主厨耐心地指导他调整煎制的时间和火候，并建议他多练习，积累经验。经过一段时间的努力，小李的烹饪技术得到了显著提高，他煎出的鹅肝色泽金黄，口感细腻，成为了餐厅里深受顾客欢迎的一道美味佳肴。
Xiaoli is a newly hired chef working in an upscale restaurant. On his first day, he is responsible for making a signature dish: pan-seared foie gras. However, due to lack of experience, he fails to gauge the cooking time correctly, resulting in some parts of the foie gras being half-cooked and others being overcooked. After tasting the dish, a customer questions its quality. Xiaoli shamefully admits his mistake to the head chef and promises to work hard and gain more proficiency soon. The head chef patiently guides him in adjusting the cooking time and temperature and suggests that he practices more to gain experience. After a while, Xiaoli's culinary skills improve significantly, his pan-seared foie gras has a golden color, is delicate in texture, and becomes a popular dish loved by customers.
Usage
形容对某事不熟悉或不熟练。
Describes the state of being unfamiliar with or unskilled in something.
Examples
-
他学习绘画，只学了皮毛，对绘画技法还很半生不熟。
ta xuexi huihua, zhi xuele pimao, dui huihuaji fa hai hen banshengbushu
He only learned the basics of painting, and is still not very skilled in painting techniques.
-
他做这工作才几天，手法还很半生半熟。
ta zuo zhe gongzuo cai jitian, shoufa hai hen banshengbushu
He has only been doing this job for a few days, and his methods are still very clumsy.