汗牛充棟

Chinese

		perspiration; sweat	ox; cow; bull	fill; satisfy; fulfil fill; satisfy; fulfil; to act in place of; substitute; sufficient; full	roof beam
trad. (汗牛充棟)		汗	牛	充	棟
simp. (汗牛充栋)		汗	牛	充	栋
Literally: “(enough books) to make a pack-ox sweat or to fill a house to the rafters”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hànniúchōngdòng

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄢˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄔㄨㄥ ㄉㄨㄥˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hon⁶ ngau⁴ cung¹ dung⁶ / hon⁶ ngau⁴ cung¹ dung³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hànniúchōngdòng
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄢˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄔㄨㄥ ㄉㄨㄥˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hànnióuchongdòng
    • Wade–Giles: han⁴-niu²-chʻung¹-tung⁴
    • Yale: hàn-nyóu-chūng-dùng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hannniouchongdonq
    • Palladius: ханьнючундун (xanʹnjučundun)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xän⁵¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰʊŋ⁵⁵ tʊŋ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: hon⁶ ngau⁴ cung¹ dung⁶ / hon⁶ ngau⁴ cung¹ dung³
    • Yale: hohn ngàuh chūng duhng / hohn ngàuh chūng dung
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hon⁶ ngau⁴ tsung¹ dung⁶ / hon⁶ ngau⁴ tsung¹ dung³
    • Guangdong Romanization: hon⁶ ngeo⁴ cung¹ dung⁶ / hon⁶ ngeo⁴ cung¹ dung³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔːn²² ŋɐu̯²¹ t͡sʰʊŋ⁵⁵ tʊŋ²²/, /hɔːn²² ŋɐu̯²¹ t͡sʰʊŋ⁵⁵ tʊŋ³³/

Idiom

汗牛充棟

1. (figurative, of books) to be numerous