# 海底摸針
## Chinese

| | | seabed; seafloor; bottom of the sea | feel with the hand; to touch; to strokefeel with the hand; to touch; to stroke; to grope; to feel (one's pulse); imitate; copy | needle; pin; injection |
| trad. (海底摸針) | trad. (海底摸針) | 海底 | 摸 | 針 |
| simp. (海底摸针) | simp. (海底摸针) | 海底 | 摸 | 针 |

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): hǎidǐmōzhēn
    (Zhuyin): ㄏㄞˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄇㄛ ㄓㄣ
* Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hói-tái-miâ-chṳ̂m
* Eastern Min (BUC): hāi-*dā̤-muŏ-*cĕng
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hái-tóe-bong-chiam / hái-té-bong-chiam / hái-tóe-mo͘-chiam
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: hǎidǐmōzhēn [Phonetic: háidǐmōzhēn]
*** Zhuyin: ㄏㄞˇ ㄉㄧˇ ㄇㄛ ㄓㄣ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: hǎidǐmojhen
*** Wade–Giles: hai$^3$-ti$^3$-mo$^1$-chên$^1$
*** Yale: hǎi-dǐ-mwō-jēn
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: haediimhojen
*** Palladius: хайдимочжэнь (xajdimočžɛnʹ)
*** Sinological IPA : /xaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ti²¹⁴⁻²¹ mu̯ɔ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hói-tái-miâ-chṳ̂m
*** Hakka Romanization System: hoi$^ˋ$ dai$^ˋ$ mia$^ˊ$ ziim$^ˊ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: hoi$^3$ dai$^3$ mia$^1$ zim$^1$
*** Sinological IPA: /hoi̯³¹ tai̯³¹ mi̯a²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡sɨm²⁴/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: hāi-*dā̤-muŏ-*cĕng
*** Sinological IPA : /hai³³⁻³⁵ tɛ³³⁽⁻²¹⁾ muo⁵⁵ t͡sɛiŋ⁵⁵/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-tóe-bong-chiam
*** Tâi-lô: hái-tué-bong-tsiam
*** Phofsit Daibuun: hay'doefbongciafm
*** IPA (Xiamen): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siam⁴⁴/
*** IPA (Taipei): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siam⁴⁴/
** (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-té-bong-chiam
*** Tâi-lô: hái-té-bong-tsiam
*** Phofsit Daibuun: hay'defbongciafm
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /hai⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ te⁴¹ bɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siam⁴⁴/
** (Hokkien: Xiamen)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hái-tóe-mo͘-chiam
*** Tâi-lô: hái-tué-moo-tsiam
*** Phofsit Daibuun: hay'doefmociafm
*** IPA (Xiamen): /hai⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tue⁵³ mɔ̃⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siam⁴⁴/

### Idiom

海底摸針
* to look for a needle in a haystack
    From: 1977, 楊小萍, 相思海
    Hái-tóe-bong-chiam siuⁿ-si hái, bong chiam gōng-tōa-tai. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
    (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    From: 2013, 江蕙 (Jody Chiang) feat. 陳嘉樺 (Ella Chen), 歹逗陣
    Khó-sioh lîn-hái bâng-bâng, beh chhē ē-ha̍h ê lâng, o͘h ~, chhin-chhiūⁿ hái-té-bong-chiam, gún chá-tiō bô ǹg-bāng. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
    Unfortunately, there is a vast sea of people, whoa. To look for someone who can get along with me is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I've got no hope early on.

#### Synonyms

| Variety | Location | Words |
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 大海撈針, 海底撈針, 水底撈針, 東海撈針 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 大海撈針, 海底撈針 |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Singapore | 海底撈針 |
| Cantonese | Hong Kong | 大海撈針 |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 海底摸針 |
| Hakka | Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 海底摸針 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 海底摸針 |
| Hakka | Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 海底摸針 |
| Hakka | Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 海底摸針 |
| Hakka | Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 海底摸針 |
| Eastern Min | Fuzhou | 海底摸針 |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 大海摸針, 海底摸針 |
| Southern Min | Tainan | 海底摸針 |

#### See also

* Thai: งมเข็มในมหาสมุทร (ngom-kěm-nai-má-hǎa-sà-mùt)