daai6 coi4 siu2 jung6大材小用
Jyutpingdaai6 coi4 siu2 jung6
Yaledaaih chòih síu yuhng
Definition
To use highly talented people for simple, unimportant work; to waste talent.
neutralwork
How it's used
This idiom carries a tone of sympathy or frustration regarding someone's professional underutilization. It is often used to advocate for someone who deserves a more challenging or significant role. Unlike some other idioms, it is frequently applied in casual workplace gossip to describe a colleague who is overqualified for their current position.
Examples
He has studied so much, it is a waste of talent for him to do this job.
Isn't it a waste of talent to ask him to do these menial tasks?
Related words
Common phrases
simply a waste of talent
to feel overqualified
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with simply being busy or having a heavy workload. It specifically refers to the mismatch between a person's high capability and the low requirement of their tasks.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
