菜鸟 (càiniǎo) green hand; newbie

Usage:

“菜鸟”的字面意思是用来做菜的鸟。但它现在的流行意义来自方言,是一个网络词语,指使用电脑不熟练的人。现在泛指在某一领域应用水平和能力比较低的人。
The literal meaning of “菜鸟(càiniǎo)” was the birds for eating. It is a metaphor for a green hand in Chinese dialect and now is commonly used as a network term, referring to a computer illiterate or a man who is not proficient in certain areas.

Sentences:

1、Xùnliàn zhèxiē xīnlái càiniǎo de rènwu jiù jiāo gěi nǐ le, jiāyóu!
训练这些新来菜鸟的任务就交给你了,加油!
It is up to you to train these new comers!

2、Zhè zhī qiúduì běnlái shì càiniǎo duìwu,dàn zuìhòu què jìnrù le juésài, chéngwéi yì pǐ hēimǎ.
这支球队本来是菜鸟队伍,但最后却进入了决赛,成为一匹黑马。
This freshman team got into the final unexpectedly and became a dark horse.

原文链接