尾大不掉

Chinese

		tail	big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	not; no	to drop; to fall
simp. and trad. (尾大不掉)		尾	大	不	掉

Etymology

From Zuo Zhuan:

末大必折，尾大不掉，君所知也。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE

Mòdàbìzhé, wěidàbùdiào, jūn suǒ zhī yě. [Pinyin]

(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wěidàbùdiào

  (Zhuyin): ㄨㄟˇ ㄉㄚˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄧㄠˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mei⁵ daai⁶ bat¹ diu⁶
• Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): bhuê² dai⁶ bug⁴ diao⁷

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wěidàbùdiào [Phonetic: wěidàbúdiào]
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˇ ㄉㄚˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄧㄠˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wěidàbùdiào
    • Wade–Giles: wei³-ta⁴-pu⁴-tiao⁴
    • Yale: wěi-dà-bù-dyàu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: woeidahbudiaw
    • Palladius: вэйдабудяо (vɛjdabudjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tä⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ti̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mei⁵ daai⁶ bat¹ diu⁶
    • Yale: méih daaih bāt diuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mei⁵ daai⁶ bat⁷ diu⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: méi⁵ dai⁶ bed¹ diu⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mei̯¹³ taːi̯²² pɐt̚⁵ tiːu̯²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: bhuê² dai⁶ bug⁴ diao⁷
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: bué tăi puk tiāu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /bue⁵²⁻³⁵ tai³⁵⁻¹¹ puk̚²⁻⁴ tiau¹¹/

Idiom

尾大不掉

1. a subordinate becomes too powerful for their superior to control