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九牛二虎之力

Mandarin · pinyin jiǔ niú èr hǔ zhī lì

tremendous strength (idiom)

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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)
二: èr · two; twice
虎: hǔ · tiger; brave, fierce; surname
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
力: lì · power, capability, influence; Kangxi radical 19

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–3–1–4 · jiu3 niu2 er4 hu3 zhi1 li4

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gau2 ngau4 ji6 fu2 zi1 lik6

Cantonese word readings for 九牛二虎之力. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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

(figurative) tremendous strength

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

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