滄海一粟

See also: 沧海一粟

Chinese
vast ocean; large ocean
 
one; single; a
one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)
 grain; millet
trad. (滄海一粟) 滄海 一 粟
simp. (沧海一粟) 沧海 一 粟

Etymology

From Su Shi's Former Ode on the Red Cliffs:

寄蜉蝣於天地，渺浮海之一粟。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
寄蜉蝣于天地，渺浮海之一粟。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Jì fúyóu yú tiāndì, miǎo fú hǎi zhī yī sù. [Pinyin]
We are like mayflies wandering in this terrestrial world or a grain of millet drifting on a deep ocean.

In some versions of the original text, 浮海 (fú hǎi, “floating in the ocean”) is written as 滄海／沧海 (cānghǎi, “large ocean”).

Pronunciation

Idiom

滄海一粟

  1. drop in the ocean; drop in the bucket
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