海底摸針
See also: 海底摸针
Chinese
| seabed; seafloor; bottom of the sea | feel with the hand; to touch; to stroke feel with the hand; to touch; to stroke; to grope; to feel (one's pulse); imitate; copy |
needle; pin; injection | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (海底摸針) | 海底 | 摸 | 針 | |
| simp. (海底摸针) | 海底 | 摸 | 针 | |
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): hǎidǐmōzhēn
- (Zhuyin): ㄏㄞˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄇㄛ ㄓㄣ
- Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hói-tái-miâ-chṳ̂m
- Eastern Min (BUC): hāi-*dā̤-muŏ-*cĕng
- Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hái-tóe-bong-chiam / hái-té-bong-chiam / hái-tóe-mo͘-chiam
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: hǎidǐmōzhēn [Phonetic: háidǐmōzhēn]
- Zhuyin: ㄏㄞˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄇㄛ ㄓㄣ
- Tongyong Pinyin: hǎidǐmojhen
- Wade–Giles: hai3-ti3-mo1-chên1
- Yale: hǎi-dǐ-mwō-jēn
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: haediimhojen
- Palladius: хайдимочжэнь (xajdimočžɛnʹ)
- Sinological IPA (key): /xaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ti²¹⁴⁻²¹ mu̯ɔ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hói-tái-miâ-chṳ̂m
- Hakka Romanization System: hoiˋ daiˋ miaˊ ziimˊ
- Hagfa Pinyim: hoi3 dai3 mia1 zim1
- Sinological IPA: /hoi̯³¹ tai̯³¹ mi̯a²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡sɨm²⁴/
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
- Eastern Min
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-tóe-bong-chiam
- Tâi-lô: hái-tué-bong-tsiam
- Phofsit Daibuun: hay'doefbongciafm
- IPA (Xiamen): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siam⁴⁴/
- IPA (Taipei): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siam⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-té-bong-chiam
- Tâi-lô: hái-té-bong-tsiam
- Phofsit Daibuun: hay'defbongciafm
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /hai⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ te⁴¹ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siam⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-tóe-mo͘-chiam
- Tâi-lô: hái-tué-moo-tsiam
- Phofsit Daibuun: hay'doefmociafm
- IPA (Xiamen): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ mɔ̃⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siam⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
Idiom
海底摸針
- to look for a needle in a haystack
- 海底摸針相思海，摸針戇大呆。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
- From: 1977, 楊小萍, 相思海
- Hái-tóe-bong-chiam siuⁿ-si hái, bong chiam gōng-tōa-tai. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
- (please add an English translation of this usage example)
海底摸针相思海，摸针戆大呆。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]- 2013, “歹逗陣”[1]performed by 江蕙 [Jody Chiang] ft. 陳嘉樺 [Ella Chen]:
- 可惜人海茫茫，要找會合的人，喔～，親像海底摸針，阮早就無央望。 [Hokkien, trad.]
- Khó-sioh lîn-hái bâng-bâng, beh chhē ē-ha̍h ê lâng, o͘h ~, chhin-chhiūⁿ hái-té-bong-chiam, gún chá-tiō bô ǹg-bāng. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
- Unfortunately, there is a vast sea of people, whoa. To look for someone who can get along with me is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I've got no hope early on.
可惜人海茫茫，要找会合的人，喔～，亲像海底摸针，阮早就无央望。 [Hokkien, simp.]
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 大海撈針 (“to look for a needle in a haystack”) [map]
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 大海撈針, 海底撈針, 水底撈針, 東海撈針 | |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Beijing | 大海裡撈針 |
| Taiwan | 大海撈針, 海底撈針 | |
| Singapore | 海底撈針 | |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 大海撈針 |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 海底摸針 |
| Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 海底摸針 | |
| Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 海底摸針 | |
| Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 海底摸針 | |
| Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 海底摸針 | |
| Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 海底摸針 | |
| Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 海底摸針 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 海底摸針, 大海摸針 |
| Tainan | 海底摸針, 大海摸針 | |
See also
- Thai: งมเข็มในมหาสมุทร (ngom-kěm-nai-má-hǎa-sà-mùt)