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九牛一毛

Mandarin · pinyin jiǔ niú yī máo

(lit.) one hair from nine oxen (idiom)
(fig.) a drop in the ocean

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Characters in this entry

九: jiǔ · nine
牛: niú · cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
毛: máo · hair, fur, feathers; coarse

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–1–2 · jiu3 niu2 yi1 mao2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) a drop in the bucket

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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