四兩破千斤

Chinese

		four	both; two; some both; two; some; a few; tael	to break; to split; broken to break; to split; broken; damaged; worn out	one thousand catties; lifting jack
trad. (四兩破千斤)		四	兩	破	千斤
simp. (四两破千斤)		四	两	破	千斤

Pronunciation

• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sì niú phò chheng kun / sì niú phò chhuiⁿ kun / sì nió͘ phò chheng kun / sì niú phòa chheng kun / sì niú phòa chhuiⁿ kun

---

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì niú phò chheng kun
    • Tâi-lô: sì niú phò tshing kun
    • Phofsit Daibuun: six niuo phoix zhefng kwn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /si²¹⁻⁵³ niũ⁵³ pʰo²¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² kun⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì niú phò chhuiⁿ kun
    • Tâi-lô: sì niú phò tshuinn kun
    • Phofsit Daibuun: six niuo phoix zhvuy kwn
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /si⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ niũ⁵⁵⁴ pʰo⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ t͡sʰuĩ³³ kun³³/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì nió͘ phò chheng kun
    • Tâi-lô: sì nióo phò tshing kun
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /si²¹⁻⁵³ niɔ̃⁵³ pʰo²¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² kun⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì niú phòa chheng kun
    • Tâi-lô: sì niú phuà tshing kun
    • Phofsit Daibuun: six niuo phoax zhefng kwn
    • IPA (Xiamen): /si²¹⁻⁵³ niũ⁵³ pʰua²¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² kun⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì niú phòa chhuiⁿ kun
    • Tâi-lô: sì niú phuà tshuinn kun
    • Phofsit Daibuun: six niuo phoax zhvuy kwn
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /si⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ niũ⁵⁵⁴ pʰua⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ t͡sʰuĩ³³ kun³³/

Idiom

四兩破千斤

1. (Hokkien) a huge return for a very small investment; a big payoff for a small effort

Synonyms

• 四兩撥千斤／四两拨千斤 (sìliǎngbōqiānjīn)