割鶏牛刀

かっけいぎゅうとう

Meanings

1. Noun using a meat ax when a knife would suffice; taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut; using a grand-scale measure (a massive instrument) to deal with an insignificant problem

Kanji

• 割 divide. Read as カツ.
• 鶏 chicken. Read as ケイ.
• 牛 cow. Read as ギュウ.
• 刀 katana. Read as トウ.

Jinuma: Japanese Dictionary · Word lists