老牛吃嫩草
Chinese
old; aged; venerable old; aged; venerable; outdated; experienced; (affectionate prefix) |
ox; cow; bull | eat; eradicate; destroy eat; eradicate; destroy; receive; stammer |
tender; soft | grass; straw; draft (of a document) grass; straw; draft (of a document); careless; rough; manuscript; hasty | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (老牛吃嫩草) | 老 | 牛 | 吃 | 嫩 | 草 | |
| simp. #(老牛吃嫩草) | 老 | 牛 | 吃 | 嫩 | 草 | |
| Literally: “old cow eating young grass”. | ||||||
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: lǎoniú chī nèncǎo
- Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˇ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄔ ㄋㄣˋ ㄘㄠˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: lǎonióu chih nèncǎo
- Wade–Giles: lao3-niu2 chʻih1 nên4-tsʻao3
- Yale: lǎu-nyóu chr̄ nèn-tsǎu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: laoniou chy nenntsao
- Palladius: лаоню чи нэньцао (laonju či nɛnʹcao)
- Sinological IPA (key): /lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ nən⁵¹ t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: lou5 ngau4 hek3 nyun6 cou2
- Yale: lóuh ngàuh hek nyuhn chóu
- Cantonese Pinyin: lou5 ngau4 hek8 nyn6 tsou2
- Guangdong Romanization: lou5 ngeo4 hég3 nün6 cou2
- Sinological IPA (key): /lou̯¹³ ŋɐu̯²¹ hɛːk̚³ nyːn²² t͡sʰou̯³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Idiom
老牛吃嫩草
- May-December relationship; to rob the cradle; a romance where one partner is significantly older than the other
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 老牛吃嫩草 (“to rob the cradle”) [map]
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 老牛吃嫩草 | |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 老牛吃嫩草 |
| Harbin | 老來啃青 | |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 老牛食嫩草 |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 老牛食嫩草 |
| Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
| Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
| Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
| Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
| Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 老牛食嫩草 | |
| Puxian Min | Putian | 老牛食幼筍 |
| Xianyou | 老牛食幼筍 | |
See also
- (Cantonese) 煲老藕 (bou1 lou5 ngau5) (when a young man dates an old woman)