汪洋大海 (wāng yáng dà hǎi) — (literal) vast and boundless ocean; (figurative) enormous scale or immense magnitude

Definition

Idiom meaning a vast, boundless ocean, used figuratively for something immensely large in scale. Often paired with 像…一般 or 在…中/般的 constructions to express being lost in or dwarfed by a huge quantity.

idiom
(literal) vast and boundless ocean(figurative) enormous scale or immense magnitude

Examples

  • ，汪洋大海。
    Yì zǒu jìn guǎng chǎng, tā jiù xiàng yì dī shuǐ róng rù le wāng yáng dà hǎi.
    As soon as he entered the square, he blended in like a drop of water merging into the boundless ocean.
  • 汪洋大海，。
    Zài wāng yáng dà hǎi bān de zī liào zhōng, zhǎo dào zhè fèn wén jiàn shí shǔ bú yì.
    Finding this document among the ocean of materials was truly no easy task.
  • 汪洋大海，。
    Tā wàng zhe yuǎn chù de wāng yáng dà hǎi, gǎn dào zì jǐ duō me miǎo xiǎo.
    He gazed at the endless ocean in the distance and felt how small he was.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
王
王wáng汪wāng
Same sound today

汪 pairs 水 (water), showing liquid, with 王, a part that gives the sound.

Open 汪 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
羊
羊yáng洋yáng
Same sound today

洋 pairs 氵, the water part, with 羊 to give its sound.

Open 洋 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →

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