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泥牛入海

ní niú rù hǎidictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. a clay ox enters the sea (idiom) / fig. to disappear with no hope of returning
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-fbc964f1a94d4d44. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

泥牛入海 泥牛入海 [ni2 niu2 ru4 hai3] /lit. a clay ox enters the sea (idiom); fig. to disappear with no hope of returning/

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.

  • 泥
    ní

    mud / clay / paste / pulp

    nì

    restrained

  • 牛
    niú

    ox / cow / bull / CL:條|条[tiáo],頭|头[tóu] / newton (abbr. for 牛頓|牛顿[niú dùn]) / (slang) awesome

    Niú

    surname Niu

  • 入
    rù

    to enter / to go into / to join / to become a member of / (bound form) to conform to (as in 入時|入时[rù shí]) / abbr. for 入聲|入声[rù shēng] / (on product packaging, after {number n} + {classifier}) containing (n pieces) (from Japanese 入 "iri")

  • 海
    hǎi

    ocean / sea / CL:個|个[gè],片[piàn] / great number of people or things / (dialect) numerous

    Hǎi

    surname Hai

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.