To scratch one's throat(náo hóu liè sǎng)

To scratch one's throat

Scratching the throat and changing the voice, a Chinese idiom, Pinyin is n á oh ó Uli è s ǎ ng, which means breaking the tune and out of tune. It comes from the second edition of Guangling moon by Tingna of Mingjiang.

The origin of Idioms

Jiang Tingna's Guangling moon of Ming Dynasty is the second one: "if you want to have a new voice, you should avoid scratching your throat."

Idiom usage

As an object; out of tune

Chinese PinYin : náo hóu liè sǎng