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大海捞针

dà hǎi lāo zhēn

a needle in a haystack

Character by character

大dà
great
海hǎi
sea
捞lāo
fish out
针zhēn
needle

Example

在这么多人里找他,简直是大海捞针。
Finding him in this crowd is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

Often 如同/简直是大海捞针.

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