手無縛雞之力

Chinese

		hand; convenient; ‑er	not have	to bind; to tie	fowl; chicken	's; him/her/it; this	power; force; strength
trad. (手無縛雞之力/手無縛鷄之力)		手	無	縛	雞/鷄	之	力
simp. (手无缚鸡之力)		手	无	缚	鸡	之	力
Literally: “one's hands lack the strength needed to truss a chicken”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): shǒu wú fú jī zhī lì

  (Zhuyin): ㄕㄡˇ ㄨˊ ㄈㄨˊ ㄐㄧ ㄓ ㄌㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sau² mou⁴ bok³ gai¹ zi¹ lik⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: shǒu wú fú jī zhī lì
    • Zhuyin: ㄕㄡˇ ㄨˊ ㄈㄨˊ ㄐㄧ ㄓ ㄌㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: shǒu wú fú ji jhih lì
    • Wade–Giles: shou³ wu² fu² chi¹ chih¹ li⁴
    • Yale: shǒu wú fú jī jr̄ lì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shoou wu fwu ji jy lih
    • Palladius: шоу у фу цзи чжи ли (šou u fu czi čži li)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ fu³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ li⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sau² mou⁴ bok³ gai¹ zi¹ lik⁶
    • Yale: sáu mòuh bok gāi jī lihk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sau² mou⁴ bok⁸ gai¹ dzi¹ lik⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: seo² mou⁴ bog³ gei¹ ji¹ lig⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sɐu̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ pɔːk̚³ kɐi̯⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ lɪk̚²/

Idiom

手無縛雞之力

1. to be very weak and lacking physical strength