初生牛犊不怕虎 (chū shēng niúdú bú pà hǔ) New-born Calves are not Afraid of Tigers
Key Learning Point (Preview): 怕 (pà): v to fear/ be afraid of
Towards the end of Eastern Han Dynasty, “刘备 (Liú Bèi) Liu Bei” captured the city “汉中 (Hànzhōng) Hanzhong” from “曹操 (Cáo Cāo) Cao Cao” and proclaimed himself king.
He ordered his famed general “关羽 (Guān Yǔ) Guan Yu” to capture “襄阳 (Xiāngyáng) Xiang yang” in the north.
刘备 (Liú Bèi)’s army defeated 曹操 (Cáo Cāo)’s army, which fell back on“樊城 (Fánchéng) Fancheng.”
“曹操 (Cáo Cāo) Cao Cao” sent a young and brave officer “庞德 (Páng Dé) Pang De” to lead the soldiers into “樊城 (Fánchéng) Fancheng” for support.
When “庞德 (Páng Dé) Pang De” led his troops into “樊城 (Fánchéng) Fancheng,” he said that he would have a “决战 (juézhàn) decisive battle” with “关羽 (Guān Yǔ) Guan Yu.”
Both fought hard against each other in the following battles but neither prevailed.
After the battles, “关羽 (Guān Yǔ) Guan Yu” came back to the military camp and said to his subordinates: “ ‘庞德 (Páng Dé) Pang De’ had very good sword skills, and he was “初生牛犊不怕虎 (chū shēng niúdú bú pà hǔ) a new-born calf that is not afraid of tiger.” We can’t look down upon him.” “初生 (chū shēng)” means new-born and “牛犊 (niúdú)” means calf.
This idiom is often used to describe young people who are not afraid of obstacles and are very brave.
For example：
Zhèxiē xiǎohuǒzi wúlùn zuò shénme shì dōu shuō gàn jiù gàn ，
这些小伙子无论做什么事都说干就干，
bú hàipà rènhé kùnnan ，zhēn kě wèi chū shēng niúdú bú pà hǔ ā ！
不害怕任何困难，真可谓初生牛犊不怕虎啊！
Whatever these young men decide to do they will start without delay and they aren’t afraid of any difficulty. “New-born calves are not afraid of tigers!”
Key Learning Point：
怕 (pà): v to fear/ be afraid of
Example:
Wǒ jiějie gàosu wǒ xué hànyǔ bú shì jiàn jiǎndān de shìqing,
我姐姐告诉我学汉语不是件简单的事情，
dànshì wǒ yí diǎn dōu bú pà, wǒ jué dé xué hànyǔ hěn yǒu yìsi.
但是我一点都不怕，我觉得学汉语很有意 思。
My older sister told me that it is not easy to learn Mandarin, but I am not afraid of learning it at all. I think it is very interesting to learn Mandarin.
决战 (juézhàn): n a decisive battle
初生牛犊 (chū shēng niúdú): new-born calves
虎 (hǔ): n tigers
Chinese Idiom
General Chinese (Beginner Level)
General Chinese (Intermediate Level)
I have heard this idiom from a friend in China. He once used it to describe me. I am wondering where this idiom comes from.
This idiom was originated from《庄子•知北游》（Zhuāngzi•Zhī běi yóu）Zhuangzi•Zhibeiyou, which is written by 庄子 (Zhuāngzi) Zhuangzi, the great thinker, philosopher and writer in the Pre-Qin period. Of course, if you have just started learning Mandarin, reading this one would be way too hard!!!
Is “怕 (pà)” the same as “害怕 (hàipà)?
really?
怕 is almost the same meaning as 害怕, sometimes for porm or idiom, omit the word 害
Yes, the two words are quite the same. “怕” is always used in oral Chinese, while “害怕” in written.
It is a kind of metaphor that used to show the great courage of young people.
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