- 爱屋及乌 Love me, love my dog.
- 百闻不如一见 Seeing is believing
- 比上不足比下有余 worse off than some, better off than many; to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst
- 笨鸟先飞 A slow sparrow should make an early start
- 不眠之夜 white night
- 不以物喜不以己悲 Not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personal losses
- 不遗余力 Spare no effort; go all out; do one's best
- 不打不成交 No discord, no concord
- 拆东墙补西墙 Rob Peter to pay Paul
- 辞旧迎新 Bid farewell to the old and usher in the new; ring out the old year and ring in the new
- 大事化小小事化了 Try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all
- 大开眼界 Open one's eyes; broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener
- 国泰民安 The country flourishes and people live in peace
- 过犹不及 Going too far is as bad as not going far enough; beyond is as wrong as falling short; too much is as bad as too little
- 功夫不负有心人 Everything comes to him who waits
- 好了伤疤忘了疼 Once on shore, one prays no more
- 好事不出门恶事传千里 Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spread far and wide
- 和气生财 Harmony brings wealth
- 活到老学到老 One is never too old to learn
- 既往不咎 Let bygones be bygones
- 金无足赤人无完人 Gold can't be pure and man can't be perfect
- 金玉满堂 Treasures fill the home
- 脚踏实地 Be down-to-earth
- 脚踩两只船 Sit on the fence
- 君子之交淡如水 The friendship between gentlemen is as pure as crystal; a hedge between keeps friendship green
- 老生常谈陈词滥调 Cut and dried, cliché
- 礼尚往来 Courtesy calls for reciprocity
- 留得青山在不怕没柴烧 Where there is life, there is hope
- 马到成功 Achieve immediate victory; win instant success
- 名利双收 Gain in both fame and wealth
- 茅塞顿开 Be suddenly enlightened
- 没有规矩不成方圆 Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards
- 每逢佳节倍思亲 On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away. It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most
- 谋事在人成事在天 The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. Man proposes, God disposes
- 弄巧成拙 Be too smart by half; Cunning outwits itself
- 拿手好戏 Masterpiece
- 赔了夫人又折兵 Throw good money after bad
- 抛砖引玉 A modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale
- 破釜沉舟 Cut off all means of retreat;burn one’s own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end
- 抢得先机 Take the preemptive opportunities
- 巧妇难为无米之炊 If you have no hand you can't make a fist. One can't make bricks without straw
- 千里之行始于足下 A thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step
- 前事不忘后事之师 Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future
- 前人栽树后人乘凉 One generation plants the trees in whose shade another generation rests. One sows and another reaps
- 前怕狼后怕虎 Fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind hesitate in doing something
- 强龙难压地头蛇 Even a dragon (from the outside) finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt - Powerful outsiders can hardly afford to neglect local bullies
- 强强联手 Win-win co-operation
- 瑞雪兆丰年 A timely snow promises a good harvest
- 人之初性本善 Man's nature at birth is good
- 人逢喜事精神爽 Joy puts heart into a man
- 人海战术 Huge-crowd strategy
- 世上无难事只要肯攀登 Where there is a will, there is a way
- 世外桃源 A fictitious land of peace away from the turmoil of the world;
- 死而后已 Until my heart stops beating
- 岁岁平安 Peace all year round
- 上有天堂下有苏杭 Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth
- 塞翁失马焉知非福 Misfortune may be an actual blessing
- 三十而立 A man should be independent at the age of thirty. At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself
- 升级换代 Updating and upgrading (of products)
- 四十不惑 Life begins at forty
- 谁言寸草心报得三春晖 Such kindness of warm sun, can't be repaid by grass
- 水涨船高 When the river rises, the boat floats high
- 时不我待 Time and tide wait for no man
- 杀鸡用牛刀 Break a butterfly on the wheel
- 实事求是 Seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts
- 说曹操,曹操到 Talk of the devil and he comes
- 实话实说 Speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is
- 实践是检验真理的唯一标准 Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth
- 山不在高,有仙则名 No matter how high the mountain is, its name will spread far and wide if there is a fairy
- 韬光养晦 Hide one's capacities and bide one's time
- 糖衣炮弹 Sugar-coated bullets
- 天有不测风云 Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue
- 团结就是力量 Unity is strength
- 跳进黄河洗不清 Even if one jumped into the Yellow River, one cannot wash oneself clean--there's nothing one can do to clear one's name
- 歪风邪气 Unhealthy practices and evil phenomena
- 物以类聚,人以群分 Birds of a feather flock together
- 往事如风 The past has vanished (from memory) like wind.; What in past, is past
- 望子成龙 Hold high hopes for one's child
- 屋漏又逢连阴雨 Misfortunes never come singly. When it rains it pours
- 文韬武略 Military expertise; military strategy
- 唯利是图 Draw water to one's mill
- 无源之水,无本之木 Water without a source, and a tree without roots
- 无中生有 Make create something out of nothing
- 无风不起浪 There are no waves without wind. There's no smoke without fire
- 徇私枉法 Bend the law for the benefit of relatives or friends
- 新官上任三把火 A new broom sweeps clean
- 虚心使人进步,骄傲使人落后 Modesty helps one go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind
- 蓄势而发 Accumulate strength for a take-off
- 心想事成 May all your wish come true
- 心照不宣 Have a tacit understanding; give tacit consent; tacit understanding
- 先入为主 First impressions are firmly entrenched
- 先下手为强 Catch the ball before the bound
- 像热锅上的蚂蚁 Like an ant on a hot pan
- 现身说法 Warn people by taking oneself as an example
- 息事宁人 Pour oil on troubled waters
- 喜忧参半 Mingled hope and fear
- 循序渐进 Step by step
- 一路平安,一路顺风 Speed somebody on their way; speed the parting guest
- 严以律己,宽以待人 Be strict with oneself and lenient towards others
- 鱼米之乡 A land of milk and honey
- 有情人终成眷属 Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well.
- 有钱能使鬼推磨 Money makes the mare go. Money talks
- 有识之士 People of vision
- 有勇无谋 Use brawn rather than brain
- 有缘千里来相会 Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination
- 与时俱进 Advance with times
- 以人为本 People oriented; people foremost
- 因材施教 Teach students according to their aptitude
- 欲穷千里目,更上一层楼 To ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther; Would eye embrace a thousand miles? Go up, one flight.
- 欲速则不达 Haste does not bring success
- 优胜劣汰 Survival of the fittest
- 英雄所见略同 Great minds think alike
- 冤家宜解不宜结 Better make friends than make enemies
- 冤假错案 Cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases
- 一言既出,驷马难追 A real man never goes back on his words
- 招财进宝 Money and treasures will be plentiful
- 债台高筑 Become debt-ridden
- 致命要害 Achilles' heel
- 众矢之的 Target of public criticism
- 知己知彼,百战不殆 Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat
- 纸上谈兵 Be an armchair strategist
- 纸包不住火 Truth will come to light sooner or later
Saturday, March 21, 2009
122个英译最爱的中国成语
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