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
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.]- 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.]
- From: 2013, 江蕙 (Jody Chiang) feat. 陳嘉樺 (Ella Chen), 歹逗陣
- 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 | |
| Mandarin | 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 | 大海摸針, 海底摸針 |
| Tainan | 海底摸針 | |
See also
- Thai: งมเข็มในมหาสมุทร
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