preach to the choir

English

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

preach to the choir (third-person singular simple present preaches to the choir, present participle preaching to the choir, simple past and past participle preached to the choir)

(idiomatic) To speak as if to convince a person or group of something they already believe.
- 1999, Frank Pellegrini, "Now the Tax Cut Is in the Hands of the Voters," Time, 6 Aug.:
  Jay Branegan says each side will be preaching to the choir. "Democrats will make the argument that's been successful with their base . . . [that] Republicans are merely helping the rich."

Usage notes

Often used to imply that a speaker is addressing the wrong audience or is deliberately addressing a compliant to an already sympathetic audience.

Synonyms

preach to the converted (less common)
preach to the congregation

Translations

speaking to those who already believe

Chinese:
Mandarin: 多此一舉／多此一举 (zh) (duōcǐyījǔ)
Finnish: puhua uskovaisille
French: prêcher un converti (fr), prêcher un convaincu (fr)
German: offene Türen einrennen
Hungarian: nyitott kapukat dönget (hu)
Italian: predicare al coro, sfondare una porta aperta
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Norwegian:
Bokmål: slå inn åpne dører (no)
Polish: wyważać otwarte drzwi (pl)
Portuguese: pregar aos convertidos
Russian: ломиться в открытую дверь (ru) (lomitʹsja v otkrytuju dverʹ)
Spanish: hablar a Noé de lluvia
Swedish: predika för de redan frälsta, slå in en öppen dörr