內牛滿面

Chinese

		inside; inner; internal inside; inner; internal; within; interior	ox; cow; bull	one's whole face
trad. (內牛滿面)		內	牛	滿面
simp. (内牛满面)		内	牛	满面
Literally: “inner cows all over one's face”.

Etymology

The idiom 淚流滿面／泪流满面 (lèiliúmǎnmiàn, “tears flowing all over one's face”) as spoken by someone speaking a Chinese dialect with n-l initial merger.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): nèiniúmǎnmiàn

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄟˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄇㄢˇ ㄇㄧㄢˋ

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: nèiniúmǎnmiàn
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄟˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄇㄢˇ ㄇㄧㄢˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nèinióumǎnmiàn
    • Wade–Giles: nei⁴-niu²-man³-mien⁴
    • Yale: nèi-nyóu-mǎn-myàn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: neynioumaanmiann
    • Palladius: нэйнюманьмянь (nɛjnjumanʹmjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /neɪ̯⁵¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ män²¹⁴⁻²¹ mi̯ɛn⁵¹/

Phrase

內牛滿面

1. (neologism, slang, humorous) to be so moved or excited that there are tears streaming down one's face

   小時候一直搞不懂週歲和虛歲。剛才朋友說：「週歲是從媽媽身體裡出來的時間，虛歲是從爸爸身體裡出來的時間。。」我頓時內牛滿面地懂了。。 [MSC, trad.]
   小时候一直搞不懂周岁和虚岁。刚才朋友说：「周岁是从妈妈身体里出来的时间，虚岁是从爸爸身体里出来的时间。。」我顿时内牛满面地懂了。。 [MSC, simp.]

   Xiǎoshíhòu yīzhí gǎo bùdǒng zhōusuì hé xūsuì. Gāngcái péngyou shuō: “Zhōusuì shì cóng māma shēntǐ lǐ chūlái de shíjiān, xūsuì shì cóng bàba shēntǐ lǐ chūlái de shíjiān..” Wǒ dùnshí nèiniúmǎnmiàn de dǒng le.. [Pinyin]

   I have been confused by western age and nominal age [in East Asian culture, where newborns start at the age of one year] since I was young. Just then a friend said: “Western age is when you exit mom's body, and nominal age is when you exit dad's body.” With tears streaming down my face, I suddenly understood everything.