📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a husband and wife living together in extreme poverty, weeping helplessly as they face hardship. It evokes the shared sorrow of a destitute couple with no means to improve their situation.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Biography of Wang Zhang in the Book of Han (《汉书·王章传》). When Wang Zhang was a student in Chang'an, he lived alone with his wife. He once fell seriously ill with no quilt to cover himself, so he lay inside an ox-hide garment (牛衣) and bade farewell to his wife in tears, believing he would not survive. The image of the impoverished couple crying together gave rise to this expression.
💡 Example Usage
昔日家道中落，夫妻二人牛农对泣，艰难度日。
After the family's fortunes declined, the couple wept together in poverty, struggling to get by each day.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 牛农对泣
- Pinyin: niú nóng duì qì
- Literal Translation: ox, farmer, face each other, weep
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4