擢髮難數
Chinese
pull out; select | hair | disaster; distress; to scold disaster; distress; to scold; difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good | number; figure; to count number; figure; to count; to calculate; several; frequently; repeatedly | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
trad. (擢髮難數) | 擢 | 髮 | 難 | 數 | |
simp. (擢发难数) | 擢 | 发 | 难 | 数 | |
Literally: “so many that one cannot finish counting even with all strands of hair pulled out”. |
Etymology
From Records of the Grand Historian:
- (須賈)曰:「擢賈之髮以續賈之罪,尚未足。」 [MSC, trad.]
- From: Sima Qian, Chapter 79 (Biography of Fan Sui and Cai Ze), Records of the Grand Historian (史記·范雎蔡澤列傳)
- (Xū Jiǎ) yuē: “Zhuó gǔ zhī fà yǐ xù gǔ zhī zuì, shàng wèi zú.” [Pinyin]
- Xu Jia said: “I have commited so many sins that it even if you pull away all my hair for counting them would not be enough.”
(须贾)曰:“擢贾之发以续贾之罪,尚未足。” [MSC, simp.]
Pronunciation
Idiom
擢髮難數
- (of crimes) innumerable
Synonyms
- 罄竹難書/罄竹难书 (qìngzhúnánshū)