四大

Chinese

		four	big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor
simp. and trad. (四大)		四	大
anagram		大四

Etymology

Four Great Elements of Buddhism

From abbreviation of 四 (sì, “four”) + 大種／大种 (Dàzhǒng), a calque of Sanskrit महाभूत (mahābhūta).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sìdà

  (Zhuyin): ㄙˋ ㄉㄚˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sei³ daai⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sìdà
    • Zhuyin: ㄙˋ ㄉㄚˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sìhdà
    • Wade–Giles: ssŭ⁴-ta⁴
    • Yale: sz̀-dà
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: syhdah
    • Palladius: сыда (syda)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sei³ daai⁶
    • Yale: sei daaih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sei³ daai⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: séi³ dai⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sei̯³³ taːi̯²²/

Noun

四大

1. (Taoism) "Four Greats" (Tao, heaven, earth and man)
2. (Buddhism) Four महाभूत (mahābhūta) (Great Elements of Buddhism, viz. earth, water, fire and air)
3. (business, accounting) The four largest global auditing firms, comprising Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
4. (historical, Cultural Revolution) Short for 大鳴、大放、大字報、大辯論 / 大鸣、大放、大字报、大辩论 (“free airing of views, big-character poster and great debate”).