纸糊的大炮,一辈子也打不响 紙糊的大砲,一輩子也打不響 紙糊的大砲,一輩子也打不響

a paper-made cannon: it won't go off in a whole lifetime

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning
Said of a person of poor calibre who will never make a name for himself. Contemptuous.
Wordplay
响 (xiǎng) means both 'to make a bang' and 'to be famous, resounding in reputation'.
Simplified
纸糊的大炮,一辈子也打不响
Traditional (Taiwan)
紙糊的大砲,一輩子也打不響
Pinyin
zhǐ hú de dàpào, yíbèizi yě dǎ bù xiǎng
Bopomofo
ㄓˇ ㄏㄨˊ ˙ㄉㄜ ㄉㄚˋ ㄆㄠˋ,ㄧˊ ㄅㄟˋ ˙ㄗ ㄧㄝˇ ㄉㄚˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄤˇ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

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