# 一朵鮮花插在牛糞上
## Chinese

| | | one; single; aone; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.) | classifier for flowers | fresh flower | insert; stick in; pierceinsert; stick in; pierce; to take part in; to interfere; to interpose | (located) at; in; exist(located) at; in; exist; (before verbs) immediately involved in; right in the middle of doing | cow dung | up; on; on topup; on; on top; upon; first; previous or last; upper; higher; above; previous; to climb; to go into; to go up |
| trad. (一朵鮮花插在牛糞上) | trad. (一朵鮮花插在牛糞上) | 一 | 朵 | 鮮花 | 插 | 在 | 牛糞 | 上 |
| simp. (一朵鲜花插在牛粪上) | simp. (一朵鲜花插在牛粪上) | 一 | 朵 | 鲜花 | 插 | 在 | 牛粪 | 上 |
| Literally: “a fresh flower stuck into cow dung”. |||||||||

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): yī duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng
    (Zhuyin): ㄧ ㄉㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄔㄚ ㄗㄞˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄈㄣˋ ㄕㄤˋ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): jat$^1$ do$^2$ sin$^1$ faa$^1$ caap$^3$ zoi$^6$ ngau$^4$ fan$^3$ soeng$^6$ / jat$^1$ doe$^2$ sin$^1$ faa$^1$ caap$^3$ zoi$^6$ ngau$^4$ fan$^3$ soeng$^6$
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: yī duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng [Phonetic: yì duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng]
*** Zhuyin: ㄧ ㄉㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄔㄚ ㄗㄞˋ ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄈㄣˋ ㄕㄤˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: yi duǒ sianhua cha zài nióufèn shàng
*** Wade–Giles: i$^1$ to$^3$ hsien$^1$-hua$^1$ chʻa$^1$ tsai$^4$ niu$^2$-fên$^4$ shang$^4$
*** Yale: yī dwǒ syān-hwā chā dzài nyóu-fèn shàng
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: i duoo shianhua cha tzay nioufenn shanq
*** Palladius: и до сяньхуа ча цзай нюфэнь шан (i do sjanʹxua ča czaj njufɛnʹ šan)
*** Sinological IPA : /i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ t͡saɪ̯⁵¹ ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ fən⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂɑŋ⁵¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: jat$^1$ do$^2$ sin$^1$ faa$^1$ caap$^3$ zoi$^6$ ngau$^4$ fan$^3$ soeng$^6$ / jat$^1$ doe$^2$ sin$^1$ faa$^1$ caap$^3$ zoi$^6$ ngau$^4$ fan$^3$ soeng$^6$
*** Yale: yāt dó sīn fā chaap joih ngàuh fan seuhng / yāt déu sīn fā chaap joih ngàuh fan seuhng
*** Cantonese Pinyin: jat$^7$ do$^2$ sin$^1$ faa$^1$ tsaap$^8$ dzoi$^6$ ngau$^4$ fan$^3$ soeng$^6$ / jat$^7$ doe$^2$ sin$^1$ faa$^1$ tsaap$^8$ dzoi$^6$ ngau$^4$ fan$^3$ soeng$^6$
*** Guangdong Romanization: yed$^1$ do$^2$ xin$^1$ fa$^1$ cab$^3$ zoi$^6$ ngeo$^4$ fen$^3$ sêng$^6$ / yed$^1$ dê$^2$ xin$^1$ fa$^1$ cab$^3$ zoi$^6$ ngeo$^4$ fen$^3$ sêng$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /jɐt̚⁵ tɔː³⁵ siːn⁵⁵ faː⁵⁵ t͡sʰaːp̚³ t͡sɔːi̯²² ŋɐu̯²¹ fɐn³³ sœːŋ²²/, /jɐt̚⁵ tœː³⁵ siːn⁵⁵ faː⁵⁵ t͡sʰaːp̚³ t͡sɔːi̯²² ŋɐu̯²¹ fɐn³³ sœːŋ²²/

### Idiom

一朵鮮花插在牛糞上
* (figurative) a beautiful or talented woman married to an ugly or untalented husband
    From: 2005, 君心蕾, 《有愛來襲，閃閃閃》, page 13
    Rúguǒ chúnqíng guāiqiǎo de Zhāng Shītíng yào duì tā dòngxīn nà kě zhēnshì yī duǒ xiānhuā chā zài niúfèn shàng. [Pinyin]
    If the pure and lovely Shiting Zhang shows interest in him, then it is really going to be a fresh flower stuck into cow dung.
    From: 2016, 羅鳴, 《愛有多深》, page 37
    “Hūnyīn dàshì nǐ néng zuòzhǔ?” Wú Dōnghǎi yòng yíwèn de mùguāng kàn zhe tā, “Nǐ bùpà biérén shuō nǐ yī duǒ xiān huā chā zài le niúfèn shàng?” [Pinyin]
    "So you think you can decide your marriage yourself?" Donghai Wu gave her a look of doubts, "Don't you fear others may say you're a fresh flower stuck into cow dung?"

#### Synonyms

* 好花插在牛糞上／好花插在牛粪上 (hǎo huā chāzài niúfèn shàng)