nán jī běi dǒu
lit. the Winnowing Basket in the southern sky, and the Big Dipper in the north (idiom)
fig. sth which, despite its name, is of no practical use
南
nán
south
箕
jī
winnow basket
北
běi
north
斗
dǒu
abbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星[Bei3 dou3 xing1]