九牛一毛

Chinese

nine ox; cow; bull
one; single; a
one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)
 
 hair; fur; one tenth of a yuan or dollar
simp. and trad.
(九牛一毛) 		九 牛 一 毛
Literally: “one hair from nine oxen”.

Etymology

From Sima Qian's letter to Ren An

假令僕伏法受誅，若九牛亡一毛，與螻蟻何以異？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
假令仆伏法受诛，若九牛亡一毛，与蝼蚁何以异？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: 1st century BCE, Sima Qian, Letter to Ren An. Translated by James R. Hightower.
Jiǎlìng pú fúfǎ shòuzhū, ruò jiǔniú wáng yīmáo, yǔ lóuyǐ héyǐ yì? [Pinyin]
Had I chosen to submit to the law and let myself be put to death, it would have been no more important than the loss of a single hair from nine oxen, no different from the crushing of an ant.

Pronunciation

Note: Tone sandhi within chengyu often vary from person to person..

Idiom

九牛一毛

  1. a drop in the bucket
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