九牛一毛

Chinese

		nine	ox; cow; bull	one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	hair; fur; one tenth of a yuan or dollar
simp. and trad. (九牛一毛)		九	牛	一	毛
Literally: “one hair from nine oxen”.

Etymology

假令僕伏法受誅，若九牛亡一毛，與螻蟻何以異？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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假令仆伏法受诛，若九牛亡一毛，与蝼蚁何以异？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Sima Qian, Letter to Ren An. 1st century BCE. Translated by Burton Watson.

Jiǎlìng pú fúfǎ shòuzhū, ruò jiǔniú wáng yīmáo, yǔ lóuyǐ héyǐ yì? [Pinyin]

If I fell before the law and was executed, it would make no more difference to most people than one hair off nine oxen, for I was a mere ant to them.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jiǔniúyīmáo

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄧ ㄇㄠˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gau² ngau⁴ jat¹ mou⁴
• Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): gao² ghu⁵ zêg⁸ mo⁵
• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁵cieu-gnieu-iq-mau

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiǔniúyīmáo [Phonetic: jiǔniúyìmáo]
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄧ ㄇㄠˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jiǒunióuyimáo
    • Wade–Giles: chiu³-niu²-i¹-mao²
    • Yale: jyǒu-nyóu-yī-máu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jeouniouimau
    • Palladius: цзюнюимао (czjunjuimao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ mɑʊ̯³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jiǔniúyīmáor [Phonetic: jiǔniúyìmáor]
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄧ ㄇㄠˊㄦ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jiǒunióuyimáor
    • Wade–Giles: chiu³-niu²-i¹-mao²-ʼrh
    • Yale: jyǒu-nyóu-yī-máur
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jeouniouimaul
    • Palladius: цзюнюимаор (czjunjuimaor)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ maʊ̯ɻʷ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gau² ngau⁴ jat¹ mou⁴
    • Yale: gáu ngàuh yāt mòuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gau² ngau⁴ jat⁷ mou⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: geo² ngeo⁴ yed¹ mou⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐu̯³⁵ ŋɐu̯²¹ jɐt̚⁵ mou̯²¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: gao² ghu⁵ zêg⁸ mo⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: káu gû tse̍k mô
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kau⁵²⁻³⁵ ɡu⁵⁵⁻¹¹ t͡sek̚⁴⁻² mo⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁵cieu-gnieu-iq-mau
    • MiniDict: cieu^去 nyeu ih mau
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²jieu-nyieu-iq-mau
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕiɤ³³ n̠ʲiɤ⁵⁵ iɪʔ³³ mɔ²¹/

Note: Tone sandhi within chengyu often vary from person to person..

Idiom

九牛一毛

1. a drop in the bucket