DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

泥牛入海

Mandarin · pinyin ní niú rù hǎi

lit. a clay ox enters the sea (idiom); fig. to disappear with no hope of returning

Characters in this entry

泥: ní · mud, mire; earth, clay; plaster
牛: niú · cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
入: rù · enter, come in(to), join
海: hǎi · sea, ocean; maritime

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

2–2–4–3 · ni2 niu2 ru4 hai3

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

4character links

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

nai4 ngau4 jap6 hoi2

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.