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燕子衔泥垒大窝

yàn zi xián ní lěi dà wōdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
the swallow's nest is built one beakful of mud at a time (idiom) / many a little makes a mickle
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-84d5c830e7d0681c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

燕子銜泥壘大窩 燕子衔泥垒大窝 [yan4 zi5 xian2 ni2 lei3 da4 wo1] /the swallow's nest is built one beakful of mud at a time (idiom)/many a little makes a mickle/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 燕子銜泥壘大窩

  • 燕
    yàn

    swallow (family Hirundinidae)

    Yān

    Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in present-day Hebei and Liaoning / north Hebei / the four Yan kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Yan 前燕[Qián Yān] (337–370), Later Yan 後燕|后燕[Hòu Yān] (384–409), Southern Yan 南燕[Nán Yān] (398–410), Northern Yan 北燕[Běi Yān] (409–436) / surname Yan

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 衔
    xián

    bit (of a bridle) / to hold in the mouth / to harbor (feelings) / to link / to accept / rank / title

  • 泥
    ní

    mud / clay / paste / pulp

    nì

    restrained

  • 垒
    lěi

    rampart / base (in baseball) / to build with stones, bricks etc

  • 大
    dà

    big / large / great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[dà jiě]) / greatly / freely / fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)

    dài

    see 大夫[dài fu]

  • 窝
    wō

    nest / pit or hollow on the human body / lair / den / place / to harbor or shelter / to hold in check / to bend / classifier for litters and broods

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.