大而无当 — “Large but without foundation”
大而无当 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes something that is grand or large in scale but ultimately impractical, inefficient, or unsuitable for its intended purpose; unwieldy and ineffective”. Literally, “Large but without foundation”.
Frequency
大而无当 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 大dà
- 而ér
- 无wú
- 当dàng
大而无当 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 大而无当
这个项目计划听起来宏伟，但考虑实际操作，很多地方都显得大而无当，难以真正落地。
This project plan sounds grand, but considering the practical execution, many aspects appear large but impractical, making it difficult to truly implement.
Origin and Story of 大而无当
During the Spring and Autumn period, Jieyu, a reclusive scholar from the state of Chu, spoke to Jianwu, describing Mount Gushe in the North Sea, where divine beings resided who could ensure plentiful harvests for the world.
Jianwu considered Jieyu's discourse to be '大而无当' (grand but impractical and unfitting for reality), dismissing it as mere boasting when he recounted it to Lianshu.
Lianshu, after a moment of contemplation, remarked to Jianwu that Jieyu's words might not be entirely devoid of truth.
Idioms Related to 大而无当
Synonyms of 大而无当
Antonyms of 大而无当
More idioms starting with 大
- dà大zhōng中zhì至zhèng正utterly fair and impartial
- dà大jǔ举jìn进gōng攻launch a large-scale attack
- dà大yì义lǐn凛rán然awe-inspiring righteousness
- dà大yì义miè灭qīn亲uphold justice over family loyalty
- dà大shū书tè特shū书write about with great emphasis
- dà大shì事bù不hú糊tú涂clear-headed in important affairs
- dà大shì事huà化xiǎo小reduce a major problem to a minor one
- dà大shì事huà化xiǎo小，，xiǎo小shì事huà化wú无reduce big problems to nothing
- dà大shì事qù去yǐ矣Major matters are beyond recovery
- dà大shì事wán完bì毕major tasks completed
- dà大shì事yǐ已rán然The major event is already done
- dà大shì事pū铺zhāng张make an extravagant display for big events
Questions about 大而无当
- What does 大而无当 mean?
- 大而无当 (dà ér wú dàng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “describes something that is grand or large in scale but ultimately impractical, inefficient, or unsuitable for its intended purpose; unwieldy and ineffective”.
- How do you pronounce 大而无当?
- 大而无当 is pronounced dà ér wú dàng in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 大而无当 literally mean?
- Literally, 大而无当 means “Large but without foundation”. It is used to mean “describes something that is grand or large in scale but ultimately impractical, inefficient, or unsuitable for its intended purpose; unwieldy and ineffective”.
- Where does 大而无当 come from?
- 大而无当 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 大而无当?
- 当：底。虽然大，却无底。原指大得无边际。后多用作表示大得不切合实际、不合用。