吳牛喘月

See also: 吴牛喘月 and 呉牛喘月

Chinese

		surname; province of Jiangsu	ox; cow; bull	to gasp; to pant; asthma	moon; month
trad. (吳牛喘月)		吳	牛	喘	月
simp. (吴牛喘月)		吴	牛	喘	月

Etymology

Literally "water buffalo from Wu (East China) pants at the moon", as if the moon were a hot sun.

From 《世說新語·言語》／《世说新语·言语》:

臣猶吳牛，見月而喘。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

臣犹吴牛，见月而喘。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5^th century CE

Chén yóu Wú niú, jiàn yuè ér chuǎn. [Pinyin]

The minister is a like a water buffalo from Wu seeing the moon and breathing heavily.

Also, this idiom is believed to be taken from a lost volume of a much earlier work 《風俗通義》／《风俗通义》 (cited by 《太平御覽》):

吳牛望月則喘；使之苦於日，見月怖，喘矣！ [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

吴牛望月则喘；使之苦于日，见月怖，喘矣！ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

Wú niú wàng yuè zé chuǎn; shǐ zhī kǔyú rì, jiàn yuè bù, chuǎn yǐ! [Pinyin]

A buffalo from Wu pants at the moon. It has been worked harshly under the sun, and it becomes frightened when seeing the moon, thereby pants.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Wú niú chuǎnyuè

  (Zhuyin): ㄨˊ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄔㄨㄢˇ ㄩㄝˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ng⁴ ngau⁴ cyun² jyut⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Wú niú chuǎnyuè
    • Zhuyin: ㄨˊ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄔㄨㄢˇ ㄩㄝˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Wú nióu chuǎnyuè
    • Wade–Giles: Wu² niu² chʻuan³-yüeh⁴
    • Yale: Wú nyóu chwǎn-ywè
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Wu niou choanyueh
    • Palladius: У ню чуаньюэ (U nju čuanʹjue)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /u³⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɥɛ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ng⁴ ngau⁴ cyun² jyut⁶
    • Yale: ǹgh ngàuh chyún yuht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ng⁴ ngau⁴ tsyn² jyt⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ng⁴ ngeo⁴ qun² yud⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋ̍²¹ ŋɐu̯²¹ t͡sʰyːn³⁵ jyːt̚²/

Idiom

吳牛喘月

1. excessive fear
2. hot weather

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (吳牛喘月):

• → Japanese: 呉牛喘月(ごぎゅうぜんげつ) (Gogyū zengetsu)