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
- (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/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- 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/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Noun
四大
- (Taoism) "Four Greats" (Tao, heaven, earth and man)
- (Buddhism) Four महाभूत (mahābhūta) (Great Elements of Buddhism, viz. earth, water, fire and air)
- (business, accounting) The four largest global auditing firms, comprising Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
- (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”)