牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低 [－－饮－－揿－－头－]

Jyutping ngau4 m4 jam2 seoi2 m4 gam6 dak1 ngau4 tau4 dai1
Pinyin niú wú yǐn shuǐ wú qìn dé niú tóu dī

Definitions (粵典–words.hk)
  1. 語句
    指一個​人​如果​唔​想​做​一樣​嘢​，​就​可能​迫​佢​做​；​所以​如果​一個​人​做​一樣​嘢​，​就​一定​係​佢​自己​本身​都​同意
    literally, "if a cow doesn't want to drink you can't force its head down"; if someone is unwilling to do something it is not possible to force them; you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink
  2. 近義詞
    有強姦冇焗賭
  3. 參看
    牛唔飲水唔㩒得牛頭低
Definitions (Wiktionary)
  1. proverb, Cantonese
    you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink; you cannot force someone to do something
Definitions (Kaifangcidian)
  1. 不能強求 – 不能强求
  2. 不能勉強 – 不能勉强
  3. 強迫不來 – 强迫不来
  4. 不能硬要求
  5. 強扭的瓜不甜 – 强扭的瓜不甜
  6. 凡事不可勉強他人 – 凡事不可勉强他人

牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低 [－－饮－－揿－－头－]

Jyutping ngau4 m4 jam2 seoi2 m4 gam6 dak1 ngau4 tau4 dai1
Pinyin niú n2 yǐn shuǐ n2 qìn de niú tóu dī

Definitions (CC-CANTO)
  1. it's impossible to force one to do something unwillingly (slang)
Examples (粵典–words.hk)
  1. Cantonese
    正如我伯爷话事偈，牛唔饮水唔揿得牛头低。
    正如我伯爺話事偈，牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低。
    zing3 jyu4 ngo5 baak3 je1 waa6 si6 gai2, ngau4 m4 jam2 seoi2 m4 gam6 dak1 ngau4 tau4 dai1.
    • As the saying my father quotes goes, if someone is unwilling to do something, it is not possible to force them.
  2. Cantonese
    俗语有话：牛唔饮水唔揿得牛头低。
    俗語有話：牛唔飲水唔撳得牛頭低。
    zuk6 jyu5 jau5 waa6: ngau4 m4 jam2 seoi2 m4 gam6 dak1 ngau4 tau4 dai1.
    • As the common saying goes, if the cow isn't drinking water, there's no way you can push its head down.