龐然大物

See also: 庞然大物

Chinese

huge; enormous; tremendous
so; thus; like this
so; thus; like this; ‑ly; correct; right
 
big; great; huge
big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor
 
thing; object; matter
trad. (龐然大物)
simp. (庞然大物)

Etymology

Coined by Tang writer Liu Zongyuan in a famous prose Donkey of Qian:

好事者可用山下龐然大物以為相知 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
好事者可用山下庞然大物以为相知 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: circa 805–815, 柳宗元 (Liu Zongyuan),三戒·黔之驢, tr. Xu Yingcai (徐英才)
Qián wú lǘ, yǒu hàoshìzhě chuán zài yǐ rù. Zhì zé wú kěyòng, fàng zhī shānxià. Hǔ jiàn zhī, pángrán dà wù yě, yǐwéi shén. Bì lín jiān kuī zhī, shāo chū jìn zhī, yìnyìn-rán mò xiāngzhī. [Pinyin]
There was no donkey in Qian until a curious person brought one in on a boat. But finding it useless, he released it at the foot of a mountain. A tiger saw it. Awed by the stranger's monstrous size and its look of inviolable deity, the tiger retreated into a wood to observe it, and then cautiously ventured to approach it.

Pronunciation



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1 1/1 1/2 2/2 1/1
Initial () (3) (38) (7) (7) (4)
Final () (9) (77) (25) (94) (60)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Level (Ø) Departing (H) Departing (H) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open Open Open Closed
Division () II III I I III
Fanqie
Baxter baewng nyen dajH daH mjut
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/bˠʌŋ/ /ȵiᴇn/ /dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /mɨut̚/
Pan
Wuyun
/bᵚɔŋ/ /ȵiɛn/ /dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /miut̚/
Shao
Rongfen
/bɔŋ/ /ȵʑjæn/ /dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /miuət̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/baɨwŋ/ /ȵian/ /dajH/ /daH/ /mut̚/
Li
Rong
/bɔŋ/ /ȵiɛn/ /dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /miuət̚/
Wang
Li
/bɔŋ/ /ȵʑĭɛn/ /dɑiH/ /dɑH/ /mĭuət̚/
Bernhard
Karlgren
/bʱɔŋ/ /ȵʑi̯ɛn/ /dʱɑiH/ /dʱɑH/ /mi̯uət̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
páng rán dài duò
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
pong4 jin4 daai6 do6 mat6

Idiom

龐然大物

  1. a huge object; colossus