雲泥

Chinese

	cloud; Yunnan (abbrev.); surname	restrained; mud; paste restrained; mud; paste; pulp
trad. (雲泥)	雲	泥
simp. (云泥)	云	泥
Literally: “the clouds [in the sky] and the mud [on the earth]”.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yúnní

(Zhuyin): ㄩㄣˊ ㄋㄧˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): wan⁴ nai⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yúnní
  - Zhuyin: ㄩㄣˊ ㄋㄧˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yúnní
  - Wade–Giles: yün²-ni²
  - Yale: yún-ní
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yunni
  - Palladius: юньни (junʹni)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /yn³⁵ ni³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: wan⁴ nai⁴
  - Yale: wàhn nàih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: wan⁴ nai⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: wen⁴ nei⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɐn²¹ nɐi̯²¹/

Noun

雲泥

things that are in stark contrast

Derived terms

判若雲泥 / 判若云泥
雲泥之別 / 云泥之别 (yúnnízhībié)
雲泥異路 / 云泥异路

Japanese

Kanji in this term
雲	泥
うん Grade: 2	でい Grade: S
on'yomi	kan'on

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 雲泥 (MC hjun nej|nejH), from a poem by Tang dynasty poet Bǎi Jūyì (白居易; 772–846), also known by his Japonified name Haku Rakuten.^[1] First cited in Japanese to a work from roughly 900.^[2]

Analyzable as a compound of 雲 (un, “cloud”) + 泥 (dei, “mud”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) うんでー [ùńdéé] (Heiban – [0])^[3]^[4]^[5]
IPA^(key): [ɯ̟̃nde̞ː]

Noun

雲(うん)泥(でい) • (undei)

(literary) "clouds and mud": things that are very different, night and day

Derived terms

雲泥(うんでい)の差(さ) (undei no sa)
雲泥万里(うんでいばんり) (undei banri)

References

^ “雲泥”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[1] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
^ “雲泥”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[DDJS-1] “雲泥”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[1] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[KDJc-2] “雲泥”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DJR-3] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SMK5-4] Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-5] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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