一朵鮮花插在牛糞上

See also: 一朵鲜花插在牛粪上

Chinese

FWOTD – 1 October 2020

		one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	classifier for flowers	fresh flower	insert; stick in; pierce insert; stick in; pierce; to take part in; to interfere; to interpose	(located) at; in; exist (located) at; in; exist; (before verbs) immediately involved in; right in the middle of doing	cow dung	up; on; on top up; on; on top; upon; first; previous or last; upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; to go up
trad. (一朵鮮花插在牛糞上)		一	朵	鮮花	插	在	牛糞	上
simp. (一朵鲜花插在牛粪上)		一	朵	鲜花	插	在	牛粪	上
Literally: “a fresh flower stuck into cow dung”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yī duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng

  (Zhuyin): ㄧ ㄉㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄔㄚ ㄗㄞˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄈㄣˋ ㄕㄤˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jat¹ do² sin¹ faa¹ caap³ zoi⁶ ngau⁴ fan³ soeng⁶ / jat¹ doe² sin¹ faa¹ caap³ zoi⁶ ngau⁴ fan³ soeng⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yī duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng [Phonetic: yì duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng]
    • Zhuyin: ㄧ ㄉㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄔㄚ ㄗㄞˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄈㄣˋ ㄕㄤˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yi duǒ sianhua cha zài nióufèn shàng
    • Wade–Giles: i¹ to³ hsien¹-hua¹ chʻa¹ tsai⁴ niu²-fên⁴ shang⁴
    • Yale: yī dwǒ syān-hwā chā dzài nyóu-fèn shàng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: i duoo shianhua cha tzay nioufenn shanq
    • Palladius: и до сяньхуа ча цзай нюфэнь шан (i do sjanʹxua ča czaj njufɛnʹ šan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ t͡saɪ̯⁵¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ fən⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂɑŋ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jat¹ do² sin¹ faa¹ caap³ zoi⁶ ngau⁴ fan³ soeng⁶ / jat¹ doe² sin¹ faa¹ caap³ zoi⁶ ngau⁴ fan³ soeng⁶
    • Yale: yāt dó sīn fā chaap joih ngàuh fan seuhng / yāt déu sīn fā chaap joih ngàuh fan seuhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁷ do² sin¹ faa¹ tsaap⁸ dzoi⁶ ngau⁴ fan³ soeng⁶ / jat⁷ doe² sin¹ faa¹ tsaap⁸ dzoi⁶ ngau⁴ fan³ soeng⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: yed¹ do² xin¹ fa¹ cab³ zoi⁶ ngeo⁴ fen³ sêng⁶ / yed¹ dê² xin¹ fa¹ cab³ zoi⁶ ngeo⁴ fen³ sêng⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚⁵ tɔː³⁵ siːn⁵⁵ faː⁵⁵ t͡sʰaːp̚³ t͡sɔːi̯²² ŋɐu̯²¹ fɐn³³ sœːŋ²²/, /jɐt̚⁵ tœː³⁵ siːn⁵⁵ faː⁵⁵ t͡sʰaːp̚³ t͡sɔːi̯²² ŋɐu̯²¹ fɐn³³ sœːŋ²²/

Idiom

一朵鮮花插在牛糞上

1. (figurative) a beautiful or talented woman married to an ugly or untalented husband

   • 如果純情乖巧的張詩婷要對他動心那可真是一朵鮮花插在牛糞上。 [MSC, trad.]
     如果纯情乖巧的张诗婷要对他动心那可真是一朵鲜花插在牛粪上。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2005, 君心蕾, 《有愛來襲，閃閃閃》, page 13

     Rúguǒ chúnqíng guāiqiǎo de Zhāng Shītíng yào duì tā dòngxīn nà kě zhēnshì yī duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng. [Pinyin]

     If the pure and lovely Shiting Zhang shows interest in him, then it is really going to be a fresh flower stuck into cow dung.

   • 「婚姻大事你能作主？」吳東海用疑問的目光看著她，「你不怕別人說你一朵鮮花插在了牛糞上？」 [MSC, trad.]
     「婚姻大事你能作主？」吴东海用疑问的目光看着她，「你不怕别人说你一朵鲜花插在了牛粪上？」 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2016, 羅鳴, 《愛有多深》, page 37

     “Hūnyīn dàshì nǐ néng zuòzhǔ?” Wú Dōnghǎi yòng yíwèn de mùguāng kàn zhe tā, “Nǐ bùpà biérén shuō nǐ yī duǒ xiān huā chā zài le niúfèn shàng?” [Pinyin]

     "So you think you can decide your marriage yourself?" Donghai Wu gave her a look of doubts, "Don't you fear others may say you're a fresh flower stuck into cow dung?"

Synonyms

• 好花插在牛糞上／好花插在牛粪上 (hǎo huā chāzài niúfèn shàng)