犬牙交錯

Chinese

		canine tooth; cuspid; fang	to interlock; to crisscross
trad. (犬牙交錯)		犬牙	交錯
simp. (犬牙交错)		犬牙	交错
Literally: “interlocked like dog's teeth”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): quǎnyájiāocuò

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄩㄢˇ ㄧㄚˊ ㄐㄧㄠ ㄘㄨㄛˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hyun² ngaa⁴ gaau¹ co³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: quǎnyájiāocuò
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄩㄢˇ ㄧㄚˊ ㄐㄧㄠ ㄘㄨㄛˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cyuǎnyájiaocuò
    • Wade–Giles: chʻüan³-ya²-chiao¹-tsʻo⁴
    • Yale: chywǎn-yá-jyāu-tswò
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: cheuanyajiautsuoh
    • Palladius: цюаньяцзяоцо (cjuanʹjaczjaoco)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹ jä³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: hyun² ngaa⁴ gaau¹ co³
    • Yale: hyún ngàh gāau cho
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hyn² ngaa⁴ gaau¹ tso³
    • Guangdong Romanization: hün² nga⁴ gao¹ co³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hyːn³⁵ ŋaː²¹ kaːu̯⁵⁵ t͡sʰɔː³³/

Idiom

犬牙交錯

1. jigsaw-like; jagged; zigzag; crisscross
2. (by extension) tangled and complicated; intricate