贱陀螺，不打不转賤陀螺，不打不轉賤陀螺，不打不轉

a cheap spinning top: it doesn't spin unless whipped

Saying俗语俗語

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

Meaning: Said of a person or animal that won't do anything unless beaten or pressured. Contemptuous.
Wordplay: 贱 (jiàn) means both cheap and lowly; 打 (dǎ) is the whipping that spins the top, and the saying applies it to beating or pressuring a person.

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Simplified: 贱陀螺，不打不转
Traditional (Taiwan): 賤陀螺，不打不轉
Pinyin: jiàn tuóluó, bù dǎ bú zhuàn
Pinyin (Taiwan): jiàn tuóluó, bù dǎ bù zhuǎn
Bopomofo: ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄊㄨㄛˊ ㄌㄨㄛˊ，ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄚˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄨㄢˇ

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

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