Below is a list of all the idioms currently in the database. Click on an idiom to be taken to its page.
See how the wind blows; See how the cat jumps
When in Rome, do as the Romans do
lit. killing the chicken to scare the monkey; to punish an individual as an example to others
lit. pale-faced scholar / young and inexperienced person without practical experience
Repeated often enough, a lie becomes truth; cry wolf
Disciples are not necessarily inferior to teachers
walk one hundred steps after dinner
lit. killing the chicken to warn the monkey (成语 saw);; to punish an individual as an example to
Literally "to borrow a knife to kill somebody"; Figuratively: To get another person to harm somebody; to get somebody else to do one's dirty work.
lit. one arrow, two golden eagles (成语 saw) / to kill two birds with one stone
only do one thing a time
imperial sword (giving bearer plenipotentiary powers) / imperial Chinese version of 007 licensed to kill
to go into battle and kill the enemy / to fight
lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard; fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances
Everything visible is empty
Déjà vu (the experience of seeing exactly the same situation a second time)
frenzied; completely crazy and ridiculous / lost ability to reason / insane / crazed cruelty
Quick sword cuts through tangled hemp / making a decisive action in a complex situation / cutting the Gordian knot
Honeyed words, a sword in the belly / figurative: hypocritical and murderous / sweet words hiding ill intent
To brace one's self to do something / to put a bold face on it / to summon up courage / to force oneself to do something one doesn't wish to do
Literally: to like the new, and hate the old.
Figuratively: enamored with new people, bored with the old people.
Hate to leave a place where one has lived long / so attached to one's native land that one is unwilling to leave it
Literally "the view of a frog in a well". To have a narrow view
Literally "A frog at the bottom of a well"; An ignorant person
Literally "The fox assumes the might of a tiger."; To attempt to influence other peoples' actions by flaunting one's powerful connections.
The word of three men was enough to spread a false rumour about a tiger hiding within the town;
people easily fall prey to rumours.
Sitting on top of a mountain to watch the tigers fight;
two dogs fight for a bone and a third one runs away with it. Observing without interfering
Good things take a long time, many difficulties may be met along the way; The road to happiness is always strewn with difficulties and setbacks.
Literally: The words of the lowly carry little weight.
Large crowds - people from the mountain to the sea.
"To break the cauldrons and sink the boats" Figuratively: to cut off one's means of retreat / to burn one's boats
A wrong repeated becomes right. A lie or error may become taken for granted as true if passed around for long enough.
"Don't cry wolf."
Person's heart is not old. Referring to ancient time's morality: "people do not have the heart of the ancients" - a comment on the decline of polite manners
"Unhurried, does not compel"
To be calm and unhurried; calm and unruffled.
"Speech becoming an essay" - To speak like a printed book; quick and clever talking; the gift of the gab; to speak so eloquently one could transcribe the words into an essay.
"Speech not originating from the heart" - What one says does not come from the heart; to speak without sincerity
"Falling leaves return to their roots" - To return to one's roots
Just right in one's regard
To know one's limits; know what one is capable of.
Gossip is a fearful thing
From an ancient fable: "In the moon lives a jade rabbit, in the sun lives a three-legged turtle. The rabbit represents the moon, the turtle the sun. The moon rises, the sun sets." Expressing the idea: "Time moves inexorably forward".
Things go against one's wishes; things don't turn out the way you want or plan.
To persevere for a long time; to do one thing without giving up.
Frank and outspoken, say what one thinks. （有花就说）
To speak incoherently, irrationally; babble like an idiot.
To parrot other people's words;
to echo the view of others.
To think and act in the same way.
It goes without saying; it is self-evident （不用说话就能明白）
To estimate correctly one's own strength as well as that of one's opponent; Know yourself - know your enemy.
Where water flows, a channel is formed - when conditions are ripe, success will come
To lose one's appetite
To be on pin and needles； worried too much
Poor in talent but very ambitious; ambitious despite lack of ability
Just right in one's regard
To gain the initiative by striking first; to pre-empt; anticipate.
A well deserved fame
First to arrive, first to get: "First come, first served"
To come unscathed through a hundred battles.
Not shaken by thunder - the arrangements are unalterable; To adhere rigidly to regulations; will go ahead whatever happens (of an arrangement or plan).
Frighten the snake into the grass
Panic: alerted. Playing in the grass alerted the snake. Alerted a party that was not meant to know something.
Enter into the history books;
to make history
People cannot be judged by their appearance
More than one can bear; at the end of one's patience; that's the last straw.
When drinking water, remember the source from where it originated;
never forget the source of your happiness; don't forget the basics.
Strict and well disciplined.
To whip the galloping horse;
to work at top speed - faster and faster
To master one's sadness and force a smile
To hope that one's children will have a bright future
Make-believe becomes reality; if one pretends for long enough, the truth could become the act.
The punishment does not fit the crime; to be punished too severely.
Literally: "Big like tiger, thin like snake". Starting with massive momentum, then slowly trailing down into nothing. Failing to accomplish what one has started.
If old things don't go, new things will never come. If we don't let go of the past, we cannot have the future.
Sprays of leaves grow where they should not; new problems pop up unexpectedly; deliberately create such problems
The medicine that tastes bad is usually the most effective: heartfelt advice, sharp criticism, is often a shock, in the same way foul medicine can be. These criticisms or advice can be beneficial, allowing one to correct one's shortcomings, which is a great thing.
Literally: to acknowledge the bandit as one's father; To mistake an enemy for a friend;
give allegiance to a usurper; a complete betrayal; to sell oneself to the enemy.
To gain advantage from both sides;
be able to achieve success one way or another; win win situation.
Eat and drink to one's heart's content; to waste too much money on feasting and partying; one spends money like water on eating and drinking.
Literally: mistaking the reflection of a bow in the wine cup for the shadow of a snake. Extremely suspicious; have imaginary fears; overly fearful.
Be sentimental but not mawkish; pathetic sentiments not carried to the extreme.
Be overjoyed; happy beyond expectations; to be overjoyed at unexpected good news; to be pleasantly surprised
To be an expert in everything
A man's happiness can be told by his face; light up, beam with happiness; unable to suppress inner joy.
Less capable than one would desire; not as strong as one would wish; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Literally: green is born of blue, but beats blue; Indigo blue is obtained from the indigo plant, but such color is bluer than the plant itself;
the disciple has surpassed the master;
A thin current can flow a long way; go about something little by little without letup; took care of your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.
A long night of sleep brings about many dreams; a long delay may mean trouble;
Don't put off until tomorrow what can be done today.
Literally: "Heroes usually agree" Great minds think alike
Sometimes outsiders can see a situation clearer than who is directly involved in it.
A person's words reflect his thinking.
Regret not getting to know somebody before.
Can't believe it without seeing it first hand; Seeing is believing.
If you plant melons you'll get melons, if you plant beans you'll get beans:
what a man sows, so he shall reap
To have deep sighs; moan and groan; sigh in despair.
放下，放开。喜爱到不肯放手的地步。fondle admiringly
Literally: "to love it as one's life"; Inordinately fond of something; like something far too much.
Willing to help but unable to do so
Love for a person extends even to the crows on his roof; love me, love my dog.
Abide by the law and behave oneself; know one's place.
Unaffected (by a disease); Safe and sound;(escape)unscathed
Follow the prescribed order; keep to conventional ways of doing things.
look for a steed with the aid of its picture; try to locate sth.by following up a clue
It is difficult to guard against hidden arrows.
Daydream; indulge in wishful thinking
(to live together until the) white hairs of old age; Live to ripe old age in conjugal bliss; remain a devoted couple to the end of their lives.
Literally: "hundred foot pole, progress still further"; much accomplished, still some work to do; to continue to further successes; not to rest on one's laurels; make still further progress.
Literally: "100 reads not boring"; be worth reading a hundred times.
Literally: "Stupid bird flies first"; slower people need to start early to finish at the same time as the average person.
it is hard to decide what to get between two things
the nice view in spring
Lots of horses walking (cars), usually used to describe the crowed street
Doing one thing but receiving two benefits.
Literally: "busy hands and shuffling feet"; to act with confusion; to be in a flurry; to be flustered;
to do something in a frantic rush.
Literally: "the big branch has big leaves";
to be crude and careless; sloppy, slapdash.
Don't know where to put the hands;
don't know where to start.
If one does not plow or weed there will be no harvest;
no pain, no gain.
All roads lead to Rome
Literally: "don't do bad things, don't fear a ghost knocking on the door"; a clear conscience is a good pillow
"A friend in need is a friend indeed"
One is never too old to learn.
Literally: "to want something in haste, but cannot get there"; more haste, less speed.
Weak, dull, uninteresting, dispirited, languid, listless (of people)
Heaven helps those who help themselves.
To strike while the iron is hot.
LitterallY: "to pour oil on the flame"; to fan the flames, to pour gas on the fire; to aggravate a situation; to enrage people and make matters worse.
Like a bolt out of the blue.
As light as a feather.
Castle in the air.
Literally: "break the cauldrons and sink the boats"; (after crossing) cut off all means of retreat; burn one's boats; cross the Rubicon; go for broke; throw the handle after the blade; draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.
To be on the thin ice
Keep one's mouth shut; breathe not a single word; be tight-mouthed; be tight-lipped.
As poor as a Church mouse; penniless; utterly destitute
As strong as a ox
To bleed like a stuck pig;
Every man and his dog; Tom, Dick and Harry; general term for people of any description
The cat weeping over the dead mouse; to shed crocodile tears.
(of an official in feudal days) dismiss a court session by beating a drum; beat a retreat; back up; give something up midway.
Literally: "A mantis raising its forelegs in a vain attempt to obstruct a chariot." Figuratively: Overrate the strength of oneself and try to accomplish something on e is not capable of.
Like an ox tugging at a broken-down cart; make slow progress.
Literally: "to play the lute to a cow". Figuratively: offering a treat to a unappreciative audience; to cast pearls before swine; like talking to a brick; to preach to deaf ears.
Literally: "to invert root and branch"; to take the incidental for the fundamental, fig. confusing cause and effect; "to put the cart before the horse."
He who talks too much errs often.
Silence is golden
Tell the truth
Literally: "Chicken feather, garlic skin"; kitchen trash, a trivial matter.
Whoever suckles me is my mother;
lick the hand of anyone who throws a few crumbs
There are plenty more fish in the sea
To make a long story short
Out of sight, out of mind
To start from scratch
Literally: "To submit to the will of heaven"; resigned to one's fate; to trust to luck
Reading thousands of books is not as useful as travelling for a thousand miles;
you learn more from practical experience than from any theory
Literally: "rarely seen, very strange"； to express amazement due to lack of experience； naive expression of excitement due to ignorance; The less one has seen, the more he marvels
In for a penny, in for a pound; don't do it, or don't rest; If you set a goal for yourself, persevere until you accomplish it; either give up, or go through to the end; Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens;
Incredible, unimaginable, inconceivable.
Art is long, life is short. Ars longa vita brevis.
impossible is nothing - nothing is impossible
