庞然大物
páng rán dà wù
a huge creature or thing; a colossus, often one less mighty than it looks
Character by character
庞páng
huge
huge
然rán
-like
-like
大dà
big
big
物wù
thing
thing
Example
那台老式电脑是个庞然大物，占了半张桌子，速度却慢得要命。
That old computer was a monster that took up half the desk, yet it was painfully slow.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From 柳宗元’s Tang fable 黔之驴: a tiger in Guizhou sees a donkey for the first time, takes the 庞然大物 for a god, then finds it can only kick, and eats it. Used of big animals, machines, buildings or organisations, often hinting that size is not strength.
Learn this in Lesson 165 · HSK 7–9: 辽西的带毛恐龙 (The feathered dinosaurs of Liaoning)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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