冇牙老虎

Chinese

		not have (dialectal)	tooth; ivory	tiger; tractor
trad. (冇牙老虎)		冇	牙	老虎
simp. #(冇牙老虎)		冇	牙	老虎
Literally: “toothless tiger”.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mou⁵ ngaa⁴ lou⁵ fu²

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mou⁵ ngaa⁴ lou⁵ fu²
    • Yale: móuh ngàh lóuh fú
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mou⁵ ngaa⁴ lou⁵ fu²
    • Guangdong Romanization: mou⁵ nga⁴ lou⁵ fu²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mou̯¹³ ŋaː²¹ lou̯¹³ fuː³⁵/

Noun

冇牙老虎 (Cantonese, figurative)

1. someone or something that seems to be powerful but is actually weak or ineffective

   Synonym: 紙老虎／纸老虎 (zhǐlǎohǔ)

2. fire (as a disaster)