泥菩薩過江 (nai4 pou4 saat3 gwo3 gong1) — like a clay idol fording a river in Cantonese
naiˎ₄泥pouˎ₄菩saat˗₃薩gwo˗₃過gongˉ¹江简 泥菩萨过江
Mandarin Pinyin: ni2 pu2 sa4 guo4 jiang1
Meaning of 泥菩薩過江
nounlike a clay idol fording a river
nounin a sorry/pitiable plight; unable to protect even one's own interests; hardly able to save oneself (let alone anyone else)
noun泥菩薩過河
noun(idiom) someone is hardly able to save herself/himself in a plight