📖 Meaning
Describes extremely fine, dense drizzle so light and thin that it resembles cow hair. Often used to depict misty, lingering rainfall that blankets everything in haze. It conveys a gentle, persistent quality rather than a sudden downpour.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in Qing dynasty scholar Liang Shaoren's collection 'Liǎngbān Qiūyǔ Ān Suíbǐ' (Miscellaneous Notes from the Two-Ban Autumn Rain Studio), Volume Five, in the line '牛毛细雨送斜阳' — fine drizzle sees off the setting sun. It is a descriptive rather than allusive idiom, drawing imagery directly from nature. The comparison of fine rain to cow hair has long been a common device in Chinese poetry and prose.
💡 Example Usage
连日牛毛细雨笼罩着整个小镇，街道上湿漉漉的。
Days of fine drizzle shrouded the entire town, leaving the streets wet and slick.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 牛毛细雨
- Pinyin: niú máo xì yǔ
- Literal Translation: cow, hair, fine, rain
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4