燕子衔泥垒大窝 in English yan4 zi5 xian2 ni2 lei3 da4 wo1 Meaning

Meanings

  • the swallow's nest is built one beakful of mud at a time (idiomatic expression)
  • many a little makes a mickle

Simplified Characters

燕 子 衔 泥 垒 大 窝

Traditional Characters

燕 子 銜 泥 壘 大 窩

Pinyin

yan4 zi5 xian2 ni2 lei3 da4 wo1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

燕yan4Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in modern Hebei and Liaoning 子zi5son 衔xian2variant of 銜|衔[xian2] 泥ni2mud 垒lei3rampart 大da4big 窝wo1nest