吹牛皮

Chinese

		to blow; blast; puff to blow; blast; puff; boast; brag; end in failure	cattle hide; big talk; bragging cattle hide; big talk; bragging; boasting
simp. and trad. (吹牛皮)		吹	牛皮

Two Naxi people with a goatskin raft. Goatskin rafts are easier to blow than Cowhide rafts.

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): chuī niúpí

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄨㄟ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄆㄧˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ceoi¹ ngau⁴ pei⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chuī niúpí
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄨㄟ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄆㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chuei nióupí
    • Wade–Giles: chʻui¹ niu²-pʻi²
    • Yale: chwēi nyóu-pí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chuei nioupyi
    • Palladius: чуй нюпи (čuj njupi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ pʰi³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ceoi¹ ngau⁴ pei⁴
    • Yale: chēui ngàuh pèih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsoey¹ ngau⁴ pei⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: cêu¹ ngeo⁴ péi⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɵy̯⁵⁵ ŋɐu̯²¹ pʰei̯²¹/

Verb

吹⫽牛皮 (verb-object)

1. to brag; to boast; to talk big

Synonyms

• 吹 (colloquial)
• 吹噓／吹嘘 (chuīxū)
• 吹水 (chuīshuǐ) (chiefly Cantonese)
• 吹牛 (chuīniú) (colloquial)
• 吹牛三 (¹tshy ⁶gnieu-se) (Wu)
• 吹牛屄 (chuīniúbī)
• 呾卵話／呾卵话 (Teochew)
• 喝仙 (Min Nan)
• 嗙虎膦 (Southern Sixian Hakka)
• 嗙雞胲／嗙鸡胲 (Hakka)
• 好臉／好脸 (Hokkien, Teochew)
• 拉空 (Teochew)
• 拉誧／拉𰵩 (Teochew)
• 放空 (Min Nan)
• 放臭屁 (Min Nan)
• 放風球／放风球 (Min Nan)
• 放風龜／放风龟 (Min Nan)
• 歕雞胲／𬅫鸡胲 (Zhao'an Hakka)
• 歕雞胿／𬅫鸡胿 (pûn-ke-kui) (Min Nan)
• 白話／白话 (báihua) (regional)
• 相空 (Min Nan)
• 矜人 (jīnrén) (literary)
• 練扇空／练扇空 (Min Nan)
• 膨風／膨风 (Min Nan)
• 自矜 (zìjīn)
• 自詡／自诩 (zìxǔ)
• 自誇／自夸 (zìkuā)
• 表功 (biǎogōng) (to brag about one's contributions)
• 誇／夸 (kuā)
• 誇口／夸口 (kuākǒu)
• 誇喙／夸喙 (kuă-*chói) (Eastern Min)
• 誇耀／夸耀 (kuāyào)
• 說大話／说大话 (shuō dàhuà)
• 講嘐潲話／讲嘐潲话 (Hokkien)
• 講空／讲空 (Min Nan)
• 車大炮／车大炮 (Cantonese, Hakka, Teochew)
• 風龜／风龟 (Min Nan)
• 鼓吹

 

Dialectal synonyms of 說大話 (“to brag; to boast; to talk big”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		說大話, 誇口, 吹噓, 誇口, 矜人, 自誇, 自詡
Mandarin	Taiwan	吹大炮
	Harbin	吹大氣兒, 吹牛屄, 吹呼, 吹著嘮, 誇嘴, 吹
	Yantai (Muping)	吹牛屄, 吹牛兒, 吹
	Luoyang	吹牛屄
	Wanrong	吹牛, 吹
	Xi'an	吹牛屄, 吹牛
	Yinchuan	吹牛屄
	Xining	斬大話
	Guiyang	衝殼子, 吹殼子, 吹牛殼, 衝牛殼
	Xuzhou	吹牛屄
	Yangzhou	吹牛
	Nanjing	吹牛, 吹牛屄, 吹
	Singapore	吹牛, 說大話
Cantonese	Guangzhou	講大話, 放葫蘆, 吹牛觱, 車大炮, 吹
	Hong Kong	車大炮, 吹, 吹水
	Taishan	吹牛, 車大炮
	Dongguan	放葫蘆
Gan	Nanchang	吹牛屄
	Lichuan	吹膨兒
	Pingxiang	吹蒙子
Hakka	Meixian	車大炮
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	吹牛, 膨風, 嗙雞胲, 講天缺, 落下頷, 屙痢屙肚
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	吹牛, 膨風, 嗙雞胲, 講天缺, 歕雞胲, 嗙虎膦
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	吹牛, 膨風, 嗙雞胲, 講天缺, 落下頷, 屙痢屙肚
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	吹牛, 膨風, 嗙雞胲, 講天缺, 落下頷, 屙屙膿膿
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	膨風, 嗙雞胲, 講天缺, 落下頷, 屙痢屙肚
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	膨風, 歕雞胲, 臭彈, 落下頷, 屙膿屙血
Huizhou	Jixi	吹牛屄, 吹卵脬, 吹
Jin	Taiyuan	吹牛屄
	Xinzhou	吹達, 吹牛屄
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	誇喙
Southern Min	Xiamen	風龜, 風神, 風龜神, 放風龜, 相空, 歕風, 歕雞胿, 放空, 膨風, 喝仙
	Quanzhou	風龜, 風神, 風龜神, 放風球, 講空, 歕風, 放空, 膨風, 喝仙
	Zhangzhou	風龜, 風神, 風龜神, 相空, 練扇空, 歕風, 歕雞胿, 放空, 膨風, 喝仙, 喝
	Taipei	歕雞胿
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	歕雞胿
	Kaohsiung	臭彈, 歕雞胿
	Yilan	臭彈, 歕雞胿
	Changhua (Lukang)	臭彈
	Taichung	歕雞胿, 烏白講
	Tainan	臭彈, 歕雞胿, 膨風, 畫虎𡳞, 放臭屁 GT, 放屁 GT, 講大聲話 GT
	Hsinchu	歕雞胿, 膨風
	Kinmen	歕雞胿
	Penghu (Magong)	歕雞胿
	Penang (Hokkien)	好臉
	Singapore (Hokkien)	好臉
	Manila (Hokkien)	喝仙, 放風
	Shantou	呾大話, 車大炮, 拉空, 拉誧
	Singapore (Teochew)	好臉
Wu	Shanghai	吹牛屄, 吹牛三
	Shanghai (Chongming)	吹牛屄
	Suzhou	吹牛屄, 吹牛三, 牛屄
	Danyang	吹牛屄
	Hangzhou	吹牛屄
	Ningbo	吹牛屄, 扯蛋, 扯老蛋, 講大話
Xiang	Loudi	吹牛皮
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)