"小巫見大巫" meaning in All languages combined

See 小巫見大巫 on Wiktionary

Phrase [Chinese]

IPA: /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ u⁵⁵/ [Mandarin, Standard-Chinese, Mainland-China, standard, Taiwan, Sinological-IPA], /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ u³⁵/ [Mandarin, Standard-Chinese, Taiwan, standard, Sinological-IPA], /siːu̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ kiːn³³ taːi̯²² mou̯²¹/ [Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological-IPA] Forms: 小巫见大巫 [Simplified-Chinese]
Etymology: From Readings of the Taiping Era, Vol. 735, quoting Zhuangzi: : The quotation above was later lost in the current version of Zhuangzi. Alternatively, from a letter written by Chen Lin (d. 217), quoted in The Book of Wu. Head templates: {{head|zh|idiom}} 小巫見大巫
  1. to pale in comparison Wikipedia link: Book of Wu, Chen Lin (Han dynasty), Taiping Yulan, Zhuangzi (book) Tags: idiomatic
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      "english": "Once an inexperienced magician saw [the spells of] a great magician, he pulled out the exorcistical weed and forsook it. This is why he would never be as mighty as that magician.",
      "raw_tags": [
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      "ref": " Taiping Yulan (Readings of the Taiping Era), 977 – 983 CE",
      "roman": "Xiǎowū jiàn dàwū, bá máo ér qì, cǐ qí suǒyǐ zhōngshēn fú rú yě.",
      "tags": [
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        "Traditional-Chinese"
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      "text": "小巫見大巫,拔茅而弃,此其所以終身弗如也。",
      "translation": "Once an inexperienced magician saw [the spells of] a great magician, he pulled out the exorcistical weed and forsook it. This is why he would never be as mighty as that magician.",
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      "text": "小巫见大巫,拔茅而弃,此其所以终身弗如也。",
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  "etymology_text": "From Readings of the Taiping Era, Vol. 735, quoting Zhuangzi:\n:\nThe quotation above was later lost in the current version of Zhuangzi. Alternatively, from a letter written by Chen Lin (d. 217), quoted in The Book of Wu.",
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  "sounds": [
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        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "xiǎo wū jiàn dà wū"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "xiǎo wú jiàn dà wú"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄨ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄨ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
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      "zh_pron": "ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄨˊ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Jyutping"
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      "zh_pron": "siu² mou⁴ gin³ daai⁶ mou⁴"
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Pinyin"
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      "zh_pron": "xiǎo wū jiàn dà wū"
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        "standard",
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
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      "zh_pron": "siǎo wu jiàn dà wu"
    },
    {
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "hsiao³ wu¹ chien⁴ ta⁴ wu¹"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "syǎu wū jyàn dà wū"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sheau u jiann dah u"
    },
    {
      "roman": "sjao u czjanʹ da u",
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Bopomofo"
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      "zh_pron": "ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄨˊ"
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        "Mandarin",
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        "Mandarin",
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        "Taiwan",
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        "Wade-Giles"
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    },
    {
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "syǎu wú jyàn dà wú"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sheau wu jiann dah wu"
    },
    {
      "roman": "sjao u czjanʹ da u",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "сяо у цзянь да у"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ u³⁵/",
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        "Mandarin",
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        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
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        "Hong Kong"
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      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
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        "Jyutping"
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      "zh_pron": "siu² mou⁴ gin³ daai⁶ mou⁴"
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        "Hong Kong"
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      "zh_pron": "síu mòuh gin daaih mòuh"
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        "Cantonese",
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      ],
      "zh_pron": "xiu² mou⁴ gin³ dai⁶ mou⁴"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/siːu̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ kiːn³³ taːi̯²² mou̯²¹/",
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        "Hong Kong"
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        "Guangzhou",
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    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Middle-Chinese"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sjewX mju kenH dajH mju"
    },
    {
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        "Old-Chinese",
        "Baxter-Sagart"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "/*[s]ewʔ C.m(r)[o] [k]ˤen-s lˤat-s|lˤa[t]-s C.m(r)[o]/"
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  "word": "小巫見大巫"
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      "text": "小巫見大巫,拔茅而弃,此其所以終身弗如也。",
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        "Simplified-Chinese"
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      "text": "小巫见大巫,拔茅而弃,此其所以终身弗如也。",
      "translation": "Once an inexperienced magician saw [the spells of] a great magician, he pulled out the exorcistical weed and forsook it. This is why he would never be as mighty as that magician.",
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        "Pinyin"
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      "zh_pron": "xiǎo wú jiàn dà wú"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄨ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄨ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Bopomofo"
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      "zh_pron": "ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄨˊ"
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    {
      "tags": [
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      "zh_pron": "siu² mou⁴ gin³ daai⁶ mou⁴"
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
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      "zh_pron": "xiǎo wū jiàn dà wū"
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    {
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        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Bopomofo"
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      "zh_pron": "ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄨ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄨ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "siǎo wu jiàn dà wu"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "hsiao³ wu¹ chien⁴ ta⁴ wu¹"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "syǎu wū jyàn dà wū"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sheau u jiann dah u"
    },
    {
      "roman": "sjao u czjanʹ da u",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "сяо у цзянь да у"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ u⁵⁵/",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Mainland-China",
        "standard",
        "Taiwan",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "xiǎo wú jiàn dà wú"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Bopomofo"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄨˊ"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Tongyong-Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "siǎo wú jiàn dà wú"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Wade-Giles"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "hsiao³ wu² chien⁴ ta⁴ wu²"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "syǎu wú jyàn dà wú"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Gwoyeu-Romatsyh"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sheau wu jiann dah wu"
    },
    {
      "roman": "sjao u czjanʹ da u",
      "tags": [
        "Mandarin",
        "Standard-Chinese",
        "Taiwan",
        "standard",
        "Palladius"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "сяо у цзянь да у"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ u³⁵/",
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        "Jyutping"
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      "zh_pron": "siu² mou⁴ gin³ daai⁶ mou⁴"
    },
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        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Yale"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "síu mòuh gin daaih mòuh"
    },
    {
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        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Cantonese",
        "Pinyin"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "siu² mou⁴ gin³ daai⁶ mou⁴"
    },
    {
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Guangdong-Romanization"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "xiu² mou⁴ gin³ dai⁶ mou⁴"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/siːu̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ kiːn³³ taːi̯²² mou̯²¹/",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Standard-Cantonese",
        "Hong Kong"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cantonese",
        "Guangzhou",
        "Sinological-IPA"
      ]
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Middle-Chinese"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "sjewX mju kenH dajH mju"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Old-Chinese",
        "Baxter-Sagart"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "/*[s]ewʔ C.m(r)[o] [k]ˤen-s lˤat-s|lˤa[t]-s C.m(r)[o]/"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Old-Chinese",
        "Zhengzhang"
      ],
      "zh_pron": "/*smewʔ ma keːns daːds ma/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "小巫見大巫"
}

Download raw JSONL data for 小巫見大巫 meaning in All languages combined (6.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-10-07 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-10-01 using wiktextract (19bd8d3 and 1ab82da). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.