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 ㄇㄛㄓㄣ
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

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: hǎidǐmōzhēn [Phonetic: háidǐmōzhēn]
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄞˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄇㄛㄓㄣ
  - 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 Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hói-tái-miâ-chṳ̂m
  - Hakka Romanization System: hoi^ˋ dai^ˋ mia^ˊ ziim^ˊ
  - 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

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	Beijing	大海裡撈針
	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	海底摸針, 大海摸針
Southern Min	Tainan	海底摸針, 大海摸針