hǎi海seadǐ底bottomlāo捞scoopzhēn针needle
To look for a needle in a haystack; to search for something that is nearly impossible to find.
Literal meaning
sea (海) — bottom (底) — scoop (捞) — needle (针)
Origin
A classical four-character phrase describing a difficult or hopeless search.
Examples
Zài在máng茫máng茫rén人hǎi海zhōng中xún寻zhǎo找shī失sàn散duō多nián年de的qīn亲rén人，jiǎn简zhí直shì是hǎi海dǐ底lāo捞zhēn针。
Searching for long-lost relatives in the vast sea of people is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Xiǎng想cóng从zhè这me么duō多de的shù数jù据zhōng中zhǎo找dào到yǒu有yòng用de的xìn信xī息，jiǎn简zhí直shì是hǎi海dǐ底lāo捞zhēn针。
Trying to find useful information from so much data is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Usage & nuances
Used to describe a task that is extremely difficult or nearly impossible.
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