老牛吃嫩草
Chinese edit
old; aged; venerable old; aged; venerable; outdated; experienced; (affectionate prefix) |
ox; cow; bull | eat; eradicate; destroy eat; eradicate; destroy; receive; stammer |
tender; soft | grass; straw; draft (of a document) grass; straw; draft (of a document); careless; rough; manuscript; hasty | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (老牛吃嫩草) | 老 | 牛 | 吃 | 嫩 | 草 | |
simp. #(老牛吃嫩草) | 老 | 牛 | 吃 | 嫩 | 草 | |
Literally: “old cow eating young grass”. |
Pronunciation edit
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄔ ㄋㄣˋ ㄘㄠˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: lǎonióu chih nèncǎo
- Wade–Giles: lao3-niu2 chʻih1 nên4-tsʻao3
- Yale: lǎu-nyóu chr̄ nèn-tsǎu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: laoniou chy nenntsao
- Palladius: лаоню чи нэньцао (laonju či nɛnʹcao)
- Sinological IPA (key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ nən⁵¹ t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: lou5 ngau4 hek3 nyun6 cou2
- Yale: lóuh ngàuh hek nyuhn chóu
- Cantonese Pinyin: lou5 ngau4 hek8 nyn6 tsou2
- Guangdong Romanization: lou5 ngeo4 hég3 nün6 cou2
- Sinological IPA (key): /lou̯¹³ ŋɐu̯²¹ hɛːk̚³ nyːn²² t͡sʰou̯³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom edit
老牛吃嫩草
- May-December relationship; to rob the cradle; a romance where one partner is significantly older than the other
Synonyms edit
Dialectal synonyms of 老牛吃嫩草 (“to rob the cradle”) [map]
Variety | Location | Words |
---|---|---|
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 老牛吃嫩草 | |
Mandarin | Taiwan | 老牛吃嫩草 |
Cantonese | Hong Kong | 老牛食嫩草 |
Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 老牛食嫩草 |
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 老牛食嫩草 |
(when the male is younger than female): (Cantonese)煲老藕