dang1 sam1 ling1 sing4 tit3燈芯拎成鐵灯芯拎成铁
Jyutpingdang1 sam1 ling1 sing4 tit3
Yaledāng sām līng sìhng tit
Definition
Even a very light object will feel heavy when carried over a long distance.
colloquialother
How it's used
This idiom describes the physical fatigue that makes even lightweight objects feel burdensome over time. It is used to emphasize that the duration of an activity, rather than the weight of the item itself, is the cause of exhaustion. You will mostly hear this from older generations or in traditional storytelling contexts.
Examples
Carrying this for so long, it really feels like a feather has turned into iron.
Related words
Common phrases
a feather feels like iron
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
