丁是丁，卯是卯

Chinese

		4th heavenly stem; man; people 4th heavenly stem; man; people; little cube; surname	be; yes; this	4th heavenly stem; man; people 4th heavenly stem; man; people; little cube; surname		4th earthly branch; 5–7 a.m.	be; yes; this	4th earthly branch; 5–7 a.m.
simp. and trad. (丁是丁，卯是卯)		丁	是	丁	，	卯	是	卯
alternative forms		釘是釘，鉚是鉚／钉是钉，铆是铆
釘是釘，鉚是鉚 - “the tenon is the tenon and the mortise is the mortise; the tenon and the mortise fit precisely”; 丁是丁，卯是卯 - “the ding is the ding and the mao is the mao”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dīng shì dīng, mǎo shì mǎo

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄧㄥ ㄕˋ ㄉㄧㄥ , ㄇㄠˇ ㄕˋ ㄇㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ding¹ si⁶ ding¹, maau⁵ si⁶ maau⁵

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dīng shì dīng, mǎo shì mǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄧㄥ ㄕˋ ㄉㄧㄥ , ㄇㄠˇ ㄕˋ ㄇㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ding shìh ding, mǎo shìh mǎo
    • Wade–Giles: ting¹ shih⁴ ting¹, mao³ shih⁴ mao³
    • Yale: dīng shr̀ dīng-, mǎu shr̀ mǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ding shyh ding, mao shyh mao
    • Palladius: дин ши дин, мао ши мао (din ši din, mao ši mao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tiŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ tiŋ⁵⁵ mɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ mɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ding¹ si⁶ ding¹, maau⁵ si⁶ maau⁵
    • Yale: dīng sih dīng, máauh sih máauh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ding¹ si⁶ ding¹, maau⁵ si⁶ maau⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: ding¹ xi⁶ ding¹, mao⁵ xi⁶ mao⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɪŋ⁵⁵ siː²² tɪŋ⁵⁵ maːu̯¹³ siː²² maːu̯¹³/

Idiom

丁是丁，卯是卯

1. serious; careful; unaccommodating (in doing things)