一盤散沙 [－盘－－]

Jyutping jat1 pun4 saan2 saa1
Pinyin yī pán sǎn shā

Definitions (CC-CEDICT)
  1. lit. like a sheet of loose sand
  2. fig. unable to cooperate (idiom)
Definitions (粵典–words.hk)
  1. 名詞
    比喻​一班人​唔​團結
    in a state of disunity; literally "a tray of loose sand"
    • 你哋一盤散沙噉，點贏比賽？
      你哋一盘散沙噉，点赢比赛？
      nei5 dei6 jat1 pun4 saan3 saa1 gam2, dim2 jeng4 bei3 coi3?
      How do you win the game if you are not collaborative?
Definitions (Wiktionary)
  1. phrase, idiomatic
    to be in a state of disunity
Examples (Tatoeba—Mandarin-English)
  1. Mandarin
    这是个由不分老少、贫富、民主党、共和党；黑人、白人、拉丁裔、亚裔、美洲原住民；同性恋、异性恋人；肢障与四体健全者，大家共同诉说的答案。美国民众向全世界发出讯息，我们绝非一盘散沙，也不是由红州、蓝州拼凑而成的集合体。
    這是個由不分老少、貧富、民主黨、共和黨；黑人、白人、拉丁裔、亞裔、美洲原住民；同性戀、異性戀人；肢障與四體健全者，大家共同訴說的答案。美國民眾向全世界發出訊息，我們絕非一盤散沙，也不是由紅州、藍州拼湊而成的集合體。
    zhè shì gè yóu bù fēn lǎo shào 、 pín fù 、 mín zhǔ dǎng 、 gòng hé dǎng ； hēi rén 、 bái rén 、 lā dīng yì 、 yà yì 、 měi zhōu yuán zhù mín ； tóng xìng liàn 、 yì xìng liàn rén ； zhī zhàng yǔ sì tǐ jiàn quán zhě ， dà jiā gòng tóng sù shuō de dá àn 。 měi guó mín zhòng xiàng quán shì jiè fā chū xùn xī ， wǒ men jué fēi yī pán sǎn shā ， yě bú shi yóu hóng zhōu 、 lán zhōu pīn còu ér chéng de jí hé tǐ 。
    • It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States of America.
Examples (粵典–words.hk)
  1. Cantonese
    一盘散沙
    一盤散沙
    jat1 pun4 saan2 saa1
    • used to show a group of people are discordant; literally: a plate of disorderly sand
  2. Cantonese
    你睇吓我哋队足球队，一盘散沙咁，再咁落去，一定冇机会升返上D1。
    你睇吓我哋隊足球隊，一盤散沙咁，再咁落去，一定冇機會升返上D1。
    nei5 tai2 haa5 ngo5 dei6 deoi6 zuk1 kau4 deoi2, jat1 pun4 saan2 saa1 gam2, zoi3 gam2 lok6 heoi3, jat1 ding6 mou5 gei1 wui6 sing1 faan1 soeng5 di1 jat1.
    • Just look at the state of our football team—it's a disorganised mess. If it goes on like that, we have no chance of ever getting back to Division 1.
  3. Cantonese
    你哋一盘散沙噉，点赢比赛？
    你哋一盤散沙噉，點贏比賽？
    nei5 dei6 jat1 pun4 saan3 saa1 gam2, dim2 jeng4 bei3 coi3?
    • How do you win the game if you are not collaborative?