海底摸針

See also: 海底摸针

Chinese

		seabed; seafloor; bottom of the sea	feel with the hand; to touch; to stroke feel with the hand; to touch; to stroke; to grope; to feel (one's pulse); imitate; copy	needle; pin; injection
trad. (海底摸針)		海底	摸	針
simp. (海底摸针)		海底	摸	针

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hǎidǐmōzhēn

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄞˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄇㄛ ㄓㄣ

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hói-tái-miâ-chṳ̂m
• Eastern Min (BUC): hāi-*dā̤-muŏ-*cĕng
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hái-tóe-bong-chiam / hái-té-bong-chiam / hái-tóe-mo͘-chiam

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hǎidǐmōzhēn [Phonetic: háidǐmōzhēn]
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄞˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄇㄛ ㄓㄣ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hǎidǐmojhen
    • Wade–Giles: hai³-ti³-mo¹-chên¹
    • Yale: hǎi-dǐ-mwō-jēn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: haediimhojen
    • Palladius: хайдимочжэнь (xajdimočžɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ti²¹⁴⁻²¹ mu̯ɔ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hói-tái-miâ-chṳ̂m
    • Hakka Romanization System: hoi` dai` mia´ ziim´
    • Hagfa Pinyim: hoi³ dai³ mia¹ zim¹
    • Sinological IPA: /hoi̯³¹ tai̯³¹ mi̯a²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡sɨm²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: hāi-*dā̤-muŏ-*cĕng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hai³³⁻³⁵ tɛ³³⁽⁻²¹⁾ muo⁵⁵ t͡sɛiŋ⁵⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-tóe-bong-chiam
    • Tâi-lô: hái-tué-bong-tsiam
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hay'doefbongciafm
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siam⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siam⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-té-bong-chiam
    • Tâi-lô: hái-té-bong-tsiam
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hay'defbongciafm
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hai⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ te⁴¹ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siam⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-tóe-mo͘-chiam
    • Tâi-lô: hái-tué-moo-tsiam
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hay'doefmociafm
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ mɔ̃⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siam⁴⁴/

Idiom

海底摸針

1. to look for a needle in a haystack

   • 海底摸針相思海，摸針戇大呆。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
     海底摸针相思海，摸针戆大呆。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]

     From: 1977, 楊小萍, 相思海

     Hái-tóe-bong-chiam siuⁿ-si hái, bong chiam gōng-tōa-tai. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 可惜人海茫茫，要找會合的人，喔～，親像海底摸針，阮早就無央望。 [Hokkien, trad.]
     可惜人海茫茫，要找会合的人，喔～，亲像海底摸针，阮早就无央望。 [Hokkien, simp.]

     From: 2013, 江蕙 (Jody Chiang) feat. 陳嘉樺 (Ella Chen), 歹逗陣

     Khó-sioh lîn-hái bâng-bâng, beh chhē ē-ha̍h ê lâng, o͘h ~, chhin-chhiūⁿ hái-té-bong-chiam, gún chá-tiō bô ǹg-bāng. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

     Unfortunately, there is a vast sea of people, whoa. To look for someone who can get along with me is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I've got no hope early on.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 大海撈針 (“to look for a needle in a haystack”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		大海撈針, 海底撈針, 水底撈針, 東海撈針
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	大海撈針, 海底撈針
	Singapore	海底撈針
Cantonese	Hong Kong	大海撈針
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	海底摸針
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	海底摸針
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	海底摸針
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	海底摸針
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	海底摸針
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	海底摸針
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	海底摸針
Southern Min	Xiamen	大海摸針, 海底摸針
	Tainan	海底摸針

See also

• Thai: งมเข็มในมหาสมุทร (ngom-kěm-nai-má-hǎa-sà-mùt)