馬の耳に念仏 (Uma no mimi ni nenbutsu)

Meaning: Wasted advice on someone who won't listen.

Language: Japanese

Literally: A Buddhist prayer in a horse's ear

Category: Animals

Origin: Japanese proverb, referencing futile Buddhist preaching.

More idioms — Animals

雀の涙 (suzume no namida) — A pitifully small amount.
対牛弾琴 (Tai gyū dan kin) — Wasting effort on an unappreciative audience.
蛇足 (dassoku) — Something completely unnecessary; a superfluous addition.
猫に小判 (Neko ni koban) — Giving something valuable to someone who can't appreciate it.
Estar en la edad del pavo — To be at an awkward teenage phase.
Estar como una cabra — To be completely crazy.

口が滑る (kuchi ga suberu) — To accidentally let something slip.
杞憂 (Kiyū) — Unnecessary worry about things that won't happen; baseless anxiety.
傍若無人 (Bōjaku-bujin) — Behaving without regard for others' feelings or presence around you.
一期一会 (Ichi-go ichi-e) — Treasure each encounter as unique and irreplaceable in life.
四面楚歌 (Shimensoka) — Being surrounded by enemies with no hope of escape or support.
鯖を読む (Saba o yomu) — To fudge the numbers in your favor, especially your age.

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