牛鬼蛇神

Chinese

		ox; cow; bull	ghost; sly; crafty	snake; serpent	God; unusual; mysterious God; unusual; mysterious; soul; spirit; divine essence; lively; spiritual being
trad. (牛鬼蛇神)		牛	鬼	蛇	神
simp. #(牛鬼蛇神)		牛	鬼	蛇	神
Literally: “Cow demons, snake spirits”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): niúguǐshéshén

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄍㄨㄟˇ ㄕㄜˊ ㄕㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngau⁴ gwai² se⁴ san⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: niúguǐshéshén
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄍㄨㄟˇ ㄕㄜˊ ㄕㄣˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nióuguěishéshén
    • Wade–Giles: niu²-kuei³-shê²-shên²
    • Yale: nyóu-gwěi-shé-shén
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: niougoeishershern
    • Palladius: нюгуйшэшэнь (njugujšɛšɛnʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂɤ³⁵ ʂən³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngau⁴ gwai² se⁴ san⁴
    • Yale: ngàuh gwái sèh sàhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngau⁴ gwai² se⁴ san⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngeo⁴ guei² sé⁴ sen⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɐu̯²¹ kʷɐi̯³⁵ sɛː²¹ sɐn²¹/

Idiom

牛鬼蛇神

1. (figurative) all sorts of bad things, especially people
2. (historical, politics) cow demons and snake spirits

Synonyms

• (Hokkien) 紅蛇赤鼠／红蛇赤鼠