雲泥万里

Japanese

Kanji in this term
雲	泥	万	里
うん Grade: 2	でい Grade: S	ばん Grade: 2	り Grade: 2
on'yomi	kan'on		on'yomi

Alternative spelling
雲泥萬里 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

While this term takes the format of a Classical Chinese 四字熟語 (yoji jukugo, “four-character compound expression”), there is no clear evidence that this existed in Classical Chinese sources.^[1] As such, this appears to be a coinage within Japanese, as a compound of 雲泥 (undei, “clouds and mud”) +‎ 万里 (banri, “a very long distance”).^[2]^[1]

First cited in Japanese to a work from 1018.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) うんでーばんり [ùńdéé báꜜǹrì] (Nakadaka – [5])
IPA^(key): [ɯ̟̃nde̞ː bã̠n̺ɾʲi]

Noun

雲(うん)泥(でい)万(ばん)里(り) • (undei banri)

two things that are poles apart
Synonyms: 雲泥の差 (undei no sa, literally “the difference between clouds and mud”), 月と鼈 (tsuki to suppon, literally “the moon and a soft-shelled turtle”)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “雲泥万里”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
^ “雲泥万里”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[KDJc-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “雲泥万里”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DDJS-2] “雲泥万里”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎^[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[1]

[2]