大而無當

Chinese

		big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	not have	to act as; represent; equal to act as; represent; equal; should; fitting; suitable; adequate; proper; replace; to be; to hold a position; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; match equally; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at
trad. (大而無當)		大	而	無	當
simp. (大而无当)		大	而	无	当

Etymology

吾聞言於接輿，大而無當，往而不反。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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吾闻言于接舆，大而无当，往而不反。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Wú wén yán yú Jiēyú, dà ér wú dàng, wǎng ér bù fǎn. [Pinyin]

I heard Jie Yu talking words which were great, but had nothing corresponding to them in reality; once gone, they could not be brought back.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dà'érwúdàng

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄦˊ ㄨˊ ㄉㄤˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): daai⁶ ji⁴ mou⁴ dong³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dà'érwúdàng
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄦˊ ㄨˊ ㄉㄤˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dà-érwúdàng
    • Wade–Giles: ta⁴-êrh²-wu²-tang⁴
    • Yale: dà-ér-wú-dàng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: daherlwudanq
    • Palladius: даэрудан (daerudan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ u³⁵ tɑŋ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: daai⁶ ji⁴ mou⁴ dong³
    • Yale: daaih yìh mòuh dong
    • Cantonese Pinyin: daai⁶ ji⁴ mou⁴ dong³
    • Guangdong Romanization: dai⁶ yi⁴ mou⁴ dong³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /taːi̯²² jiː²¹ mou̯²¹ tɔːŋ³³/

Idiom

大而無當

1. large but impractical; unwieldy

   大而無當的計劃 [MSC, trad.]
   大而无当的计划 [MSC, simp.]

   dà'érwúdàng de jìhuà [Pinyin]

   a grandiose but impractical plan