大相徑庭

Chinese

		big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	each other; appearance; portrait each other; appearance; portrait; picture; one another; mutually	to go across courtyard; to be completely different
trad. (大相徑庭/大相逕庭)		大	相	徑庭/逕庭
simp. (大相径庭)		大	相	径庭

Etymology

From Zhuangzi:

吾驚怖其言，猶河漢而無極也；大有徑庭，不近人情焉。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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吾惊怖其言，犹河汉而无极也；大有径庭，不近人情焉。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE

Wú jīngbù qí yán, yóu héhàn ér wújí yě; dà yǒu jìngtíng, bù jìn rénqíng yān. [Pinyin]

I was frightened and scared by his words; they were like the Milky Way which cannot be traced to its beginning or end. They had no connexion with one another, and were not akin to the experiences of men.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dàxiāngjìngtíng

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): daai⁶ soeng³ ging³ ting⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dàxiāngjìngtíng
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dàsiangjìngtíng
    • Wade–Giles: ta⁴-hsiang¹-ching⁴-tʻing²
    • Yale: dà-syāng-jìng-tíng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dahshiangjinqtyng
    • Palladius: дасянцзинтин (dasjanczintin)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ tʰiŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: daai⁶ soeng³ ging³ ting⁴
    • Yale: daaih seung ging tìhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: daai⁶ soeng³ ging³ ting⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: dai⁶ sêng³ ging³ ting⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /taːi̯²² sœːŋ³³ kɪŋ³³ tʰɪŋ²¹/

Idiom

大相徑庭

1. completely different; poles apart; as different as can be