马耳东风 wind in the horses' ears
Explanation
比喻把别人的话当作耳边风,不放在心上。
It means to treat other people's words as if they were just wind in one's ears and not to take them seriously.
Origin Story
从前,有个秀才,一心想考取功名。一日,他去拜访一位老秀才,请教学习经验。老秀才语重心长地劝他:“读书要勤奋,要多思考,不要只满足于背诵。”秀才连连点头,表示赞同。可是,过了几天,秀才又像以前一样,只顾埋头苦读,却不去认真思考问题。老秀才再次碰到他,忍不住又劝说道:“学习要讲究方法,才能事半功倍啊!”秀才只是敷衍地应付几句,心里根本没把老秀才的话放在心上,他的话就像马耳东风。最后,秀才虽然读书很刻苦,却一直未能考取功名。
Once upon a time, there was a scholar who wanted to pass the imperial examinations. One day, he went to visit an old scholar to learn from his experience. The old scholar earnestly advised him: "To study hard, to think more, do not only satisfy with memorization." The scholar nodded repeatedly, expressing his agreement. However, after a few days, the scholar continued to bury his head in reading, neglecting to think deeply about issues. The old scholar met him again and couldn't help but advise him again: "Learning needs to emphasize methods to achieve twice the result with half the effort!" The scholar gave a perfunctory response, not taking the old scholar's advice to heart at all. In the end, despite his diligence in studying, the scholar failed to pass the imperial examinations.
Usage
用作宾语;比喻不重视,不理会。
Used as an object; it means not to take something seriously or to ignore it.
Examples
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他的建议,我听了就像马耳东风,没放在心上。
tā de jiànyì, wǒ tīng le jiù xiàng mǎ ěr dōng fēng, méi fàng zài xīn shang
I treated his advice as a mere passing breeze, not taking it seriously.
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对于领导的批评,他充耳不闻,简直是马耳东风。
duìyú lǐngdǎo de pīpíng, tā chōng ěr bù wén, jiǎnzhí shì mǎ ěr dōng fēng
He turned a deaf ear to the leader's criticism, completely ignoring it like a breeze to a horse's ear