4 characters Idiom and proverb 12 987

Idioms like 「南箕北鬥」 are key to mastering Chinese. Start from characters, climb to idioms, and explore them with this free resource.

We’re presenting the idiom 「南箕北鬥」 this time—its explanation and use are detailed below.

Ji: The name of a constellation, shaped like a winnowing dustpan; Dou: The name of a constellation, shaped like a wine bucket. A metaphor for something that has a reputation but is useless.

The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :

nán jī běi dòu

while its Cantonese pinyin is :

naam4 gei1 bak1 dau3

Chinese idioms are incredibly numerous, each carrying a special meaning and usage. This variety is a great reason to study them, and we hope these tools make that easier for you.