kính lão đắc thọ

[kïŋ˧˦ laːw˦ˀ˥ ʔɗak̚˧˦ tʰɔ˧˨ʔ]

[kɨn˦˧˥ laːw˧˨ ʔɗak̚˦˧˥ tʰɔ˨˩ʔ]

[kɨn˦˥ laːw˨˩˦ ʔɗak̚˦˥ tʰɔ˨˩˨]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 敬老得壽, from kính lão (敬老, "to respect the elderly") + đắc (得, "to gain") + thọ (壽, "long life")

(literal) if you respect the elderly, you'll extend your lifespan

(figurative) it's always a good idea to respect the elderly


ahol a madár se jár

[ˈɒɦol ɒ ˈmɒdaːr ˈʃɛjaːr]

ahol (“where”) + a (“the”) + madár (“bird”) + se (“not even”) + jár (“go”), literally: "where even a bird doesn't go"

Mit keresel itt, ahol a madár se jár?

What are you doing all the way out here?

(idiomatic) in the middle of nowhere, at an out-of-the-way place, on a remote, unfrequented area (all the way out there where nobody goes)


cushion for the pushin'

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-cushion for the pushin'.wav

(slang, humorous) Excess body fat or musculature on the buttocks area, seen as making someone more buoyant and allowing more comfort, "cushion," during intercourse than bony hips would, and also providing more bounce.


喐手喐腳

/jʊk̚⁵ sɐu̯³⁵ jʊk̚⁵ kœːk̚³/

/jʊk̚⁵ sɐu̯³⁵ jʊk̚⁵ kœːk̚³/

(Cantonese) to take liberties (with women)


العين بالعين

head

اَلْعَيْنُ بِــٱلْعَيْنِ

اَلْعَيْنُ بِــٱلْعَيْنِ • (al-ʕaynu bil-ʕayni)

اَلْعَيْنُ بِـ ـٱلْعَيْنِ (canonical)
al-ʕaynu bil-ʕayni (romanization)

وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ ٱلنَّفْسَ بِٱلنَّفْسِ وَٱلْعَيْنَ بِٱلْعَيْنِ وَٱلْأَنْفَ بِٱلْأَنْفِ وَٱلْأُذُنَ بِٱلْأُذُنِ وَٱلسِّنَّ بِٱلسِّنِّ وَٱلْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌ

(please add an English translation of this quotation)

wakatabnā ʕalayhim fīhā ʔanna n-nafsa bi-n-nafsi wal-ʕayna bi-l-ʕayni wal-ʔanfa bi-l-ʔanfi wal-ʔuḏuna bi-l-ʔuḏuni was-sinna bi-s-sinni wal-jurūḥa qiṣāṣun

ar:العين بالعين


von hinten Lyzeum, von vorne Museum

De-von hinten Lyzeum, von vorne Museum.ogg

Literally, “from behind [like] grammar school, from the front [like] museum”, that is, her dressing younger fails her as soon as one sees her face. Compare the same saying in some other continental European languages. The word Lyzeum (“grammar school for girls”) is now not used anymore, for which reason the saying has also become dated.

m-g

from behind 􂀿like􂁀 grammar school, from the front 􂀿like􂁀 museum

lit

Was soll man mit so einer greinenden und verrückten Person anfangen? Von niemandem wird sie ernst genommen. Charakter hat sie nicht, klagt bei jedem und läuft herum: von hinten Lyzeum, von vorne Museum.

2012 [1948], “Freitag, 16. Juni 1944”, in Mirjam Pressler, transl., Tagebuch [The Diary of a Young Girl], S. Fischer, translation of Het Achterhuis by Anne Frank, →ISBN:

mutton dressed as lamb
mutton dressed as lamb

(somewhat dated, derogatory) mutton dressed as lamb


είμαι ανοιχτό βιβλίο

head

είμαι ανοιχτό βιβλίο • (eímai anoichtó vivlío)

wear one's heart on one's sleeve
wear one's heart on one's sleeve

to be an open book, wear one's heart on one's sleeve

en-είμαι_ανοιχτό_βιβλίο-el-phrase-p98Wowmq


法不責眾

ㄈㄚˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄜˊ ㄓㄨㄥˋ

/fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡sɤ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵¹/

/faːt̚³ pɐt̚⁵ t͡saːk̚³ t͡sʊŋ³³/

/fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡sɤ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵¹/

/faːt̚³ pɐt̚⁵ t͡saːk̚³ t͡sʊŋ³³/

a law is violated by a lot of people and is thus left unenforced instead


豬兄狗弟

/ti⁴⁴⁻²² hiã⁴⁴⁻²² kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ti²²/

/ti⁴⁴⁻²² hiã⁴⁴⁻²² kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ ti²²/

(Zhangzhou Hokkien) disreputable friends; evil associates; gang of scoundrels


一枕黃粱

ㄧ ㄓㄣˇ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄌㄧㄤˊ

ичжэньхуанлян

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂən²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ li̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sɐm³⁵ wɔːŋ²¹ lœːŋ²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂən²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ li̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sɐm³⁵ wɔːŋ²¹ lœːŋ²¹/


一語道破

ㄧ ㄩˇ ㄉㄠˋ ㄆㄛˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ tɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ jyː¹³ tou̯²² pʰɔː³³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ tɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ jyː¹³ tou̯²² pʰɔː³³/

hit the nail on the head
hit the nail on the head

to lay bare the truth with one penetrating remark; to hit the nail on the head


一語破的

ㄧ ㄩˇ ㄆㄛˋ ㄉㄧˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ pʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ti⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ jyː¹³ pʰɔː³³ tɪk̚⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ pʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ti⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ jyː¹³ pʰɔː³³ tɪk̚⁵/


一應俱全

ㄧ ㄧㄥ ㄐㄩˋ ㄑㄩㄢˊ

иинцзюйцюань

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ iŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕy⁵¹ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ jɪŋ³³ kʰɵy̯⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/it̚³²⁻⁴ iɪŋ²¹⁻⁵³ ku²²⁻²¹ t͡suan²⁴/

/it̚⁵⁻²⁴ iɪŋ⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ ku⁴¹⁻²² t͡suan²⁴/

/it̚³²⁻⁵ iɪŋ²¹⁻⁵³ ku²²⁻²¹ t͡suan¹³/

/it̚³²⁻⁴ iɪŋ¹¹⁻⁵³ ku³³⁻¹¹ t͡suan²⁴/

/it̚³²⁻⁴ iɪŋ²¹⁻⁴¹ ku³³⁻²¹ t͡suan²³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ iŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕy⁵¹ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ jɪŋ³³ kʰɵy̯⁵⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/it̚³²⁻⁴ iɪŋ²¹⁻⁵³ ku²²⁻²¹ t͡suan²⁴/

/it̚⁵⁻²⁴ iɪŋ⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ ku⁴¹⁻²² t͡suan²⁴/

/it̚³²⁻⁵ iɪŋ²¹⁻⁵³ ku²²⁻²¹ t͡suan¹³/

/it̚³²⁻⁴ iɪŋ¹¹⁻⁵³ ku³³⁻¹¹ t͡suan²⁴/

/it̚³²⁻⁴ iɪŋ²¹⁻⁴¹ ku³³⁻²¹ t͡suan²³/


一葉蔽目，不見泰山

一叶蔽目，不见泰山
一葉蔽目，不見太山

a leaf before the eye shuts outMount Tai

ㄧ ㄧㄝˋ ㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄨˋ

ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄊㄞˋ ㄕㄢ

бу цзянь Тайшань

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ jɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pi⁵¹⁻⁵³ mu⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰaɪ̯⁵¹ ʂän⁵⁵/

一葉障目，不見泰山 一葉障目，不見泰山#Chinese

一叶障目，不见泰山 一叶障目，不见泰山#Chinese

Synonym of 一葉障目，不見泰山／一叶障目，不见泰山 (yī yè zhàng mù, bù jiàn Tàishān)


一星半點兒

ㄧ ㄒㄧㄥ ㄅㄢˋ ㄉㄧㄢˇㄦ

исинбаньдяньр

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ pän⁵¹ ti̯ɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ pän⁵¹ ti̯ɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

一星半點 一星半點#Chinese

一星半点 一星半点#Chinese

(Mandarin) Erhua form of 一星半點／一星半点 (yīxīng-bàndiǎn, “a tiny bit; a very small amount”).


一指蔽目，不見泰山

a finger before the eye shuts outMount Tai

ㄧ ㄓˇ ㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄨˋ

ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄊㄞˋ ㄕㄢ

бу цзянь Тайшань

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pi⁵¹⁻⁵³ mu⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰaɪ̯⁵¹ ʂän⁵⁵/

一葉障目，不見泰山 一葉障目，不見泰山#Chinese

一叶障目，不见泰山 一叶障目，不见泰山#Chinese


一德一心

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵/

Oh! unite your energies, unite your hearts; so shall you forthwith surely accomplish the work, to last for all ages!

The Book of Documents, circa 4ᵗʰ – 3ʳᵈ century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Wūhū! Nǎi yīdéyīxīn, lì dìng jué gōng, wéi kè yǒngshì.

嗚呼！乃一德一心，立定厥功，惟克永世。

呜呼！乃一德一心，立定厥功，惟克永世。


一葉障目，不見泰山

ㄧ ㄧㄝˋ ㄓㄤˋ ㄇㄨˋ

ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄊㄞˋ ㄕㄢ

bù jiàn Tàishān [Phonetic:yí yè zhàng mù

бу цзянь Тайшань

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ jɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ mu⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰaɪ̯⁵¹ ʂän⁵⁵/

to have one's view of the important overshadowed by the trivial


一瀉千里

ㄧ ㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄌㄧˇ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɛː³³ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ lei̯¹³/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɛː³³ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ lei̯¹³/


一心一德

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ jɐt̚⁵ tɐk̚⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ jɐt̚⁵ tɐk̚⁵/

We Communists are whole-heartedly and faithfully carrying out our own manifesto.

1937, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《反對日本進攻的方針、辦法和前途》 (Policies, Measures and Perspectives for Resisting the Japanese Invasion), 《毛澤東選集》 (Selected Works of Mao Zedong). English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Gòngchǎndǎngrén yīxīnyīdé, zhōngshí zhíxíng zìjǐ de xuānyán.

共產黨人一心一德，忠實執行自己的宣言。

共产党人一心一德，忠实执行自己的宣言。


一星半點

ㄧ ㄒㄧㄥ ㄅㄢˋ ㄉㄧㄢˇ

исинбаньдянь

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ pän⁵¹ ti̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

ㄧ ㄒㄧㄥ ㄅㄢˋ ㄉㄧㄢˇㄦ

исинбаньдяньр

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ pän⁵¹ ti̯ɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɪŋ⁵⁵ puːn³³ tiːm³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ pän⁵¹ ti̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵ pän⁵¹ ti̯ɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɪŋ⁵⁵ puːn³³ tiːm³⁵/

This is a high precision job. There mustn't be the slightest slip.

Zhè kě shì xìhuó, bùnéng yǒu yīxīngbàndiǎn chācuò.

這可是細活，不能有一星半點差錯。

这可是细活，不能有一星半点差错。


一蟹不如一蟹

ㄧ ㄒㄧㄝˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄨˊ ㄧ ㄒㄧㄝˋ

yī xiè bùrú yī xiè [Phonetic:yí xiè bùrú yí xiè]

и се бужу и се

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ ʐu³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ haːi̯¹³ pɐt̚⁵ jyː²¹ jɐt̚⁵ haːi̯¹³/

Aizi was strolling by the sea. He saw a round and flat creature with many legs. He asked a local person, "What is this?" "It's a swimming crab (Portunidae)," answered that person. Then Aizi saw another creature, also round and flat, with many legs. Aizi then asked, "What is this?" "It's a common crab (Brachyura)." After that Aizi saw another creature again. It looked like those he just saw but was very small. He asked, "What is this?" "It's an sesarmid crab (Sesarmidae)." Aizi then sighed and said, "Why each crab I saw is smaller than the one before?"

Àizǐ xíng yú hǎi shàng, jiàn yī wù yuán ér biǎn, qiě duō zú, wèn jūrén yuē: “Cǐ hé wù yě?” Yuē: “Qiúmóu yě.” Jì yòu jiàn yī wù, yuán biǎn duō zú, wèn jūrén yuē: “Cǐ hé wù yě?” Yuē: “Pángxiè yě.” Yòu yú hòu dé yī wù, zhuàngmào jiē ruò qián suǒ jiàn ér jí xiǎo, wèn jūrén yuē: “Cǐ hé wù yě?” Yuē: “Péngyuè yě.” Àizǐ kuìrán tàn yuē: “Hé yīxièbùrúyīxiè yě!”

艾子行於海上，見一物圓而褊，且多足，問居人曰：「此何物也？」曰：「蝤蛑也。」既又見一物，圓褊多足，問居人曰：「此何物也？」曰：「螃蟹也。」又於後得一物，狀貌皆若前所見而極小，問居人曰：「此何物也？」曰：「彭越也。」艾子喟然嘆曰：「何一蟹不如一蟹也！」

艾子行于海上，见一物圆而褊，且多足，问居人曰：「此何物也？」曰：「蝤蛑也。」既又见一物，圆褊多足，问居人曰：「此何物也？」曰：「螃蟹也。」又于后得一物，状貌皆若前所见而极小，问居人曰：「此何物也？」曰：「彭越也。」艾子喟然叹曰：「何一蟹不如一蟹也！」

each crab is smaller than the one before


kő kövön nem marad

[ˈkøː ˈkøvøn ˈnɛmːɒrɒd]

kő (“stone”) + kövön (“on stone”) + nem (“not”) + marad (“to remain”), literally “there won't remain stone upon stone”

affix

Ha az ellenség ideér, itt kő kövön nem marad.

If the enemy gets here, not a stone will be left standing.

not a stone will be left standing
not a stone will be left standing

(idiomatic) not a stone will be left standing (everything will be destroyed and torn down)


podle mě

Podle mě to není dobrý nápad.


一文不名

ㄧ ㄨㄣˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ wən³⁵ pu⁵¹ miŋ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɐn²¹ pɐt̚⁵ mɪŋ²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ wən³⁵ pu⁵¹ miŋ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɐn²¹ pɐt̚⁵ mɪŋ²¹/


一望無際

ㄧ ㄨㄤˋ ㄨˊ ㄐㄧˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ wɑŋ⁵¹ u³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɔːŋ²² mou̯²¹ t͡sɐi̯³³/

/jit̚⁵⁵ ᵐbɔŋ³² ᵐbu²² tai³³/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ wɑŋ⁵¹ u³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɔːŋ²² mou̯²¹ t͡sɐi̯³³/

/jit̚⁵⁵ ᵐbɔŋ³² ᵐbu²² tai³³/

一望無際的大草原

一望无际的大草原

to stretch as far as the eye can see; to stretch to the horizon


一法通，萬法通

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ wän⁵¹ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

grasp this one thing and you'll grasp everything; sort this one thing out and you'll sort out all the rest


一物降一物

ㄧ ㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄤˊ ㄧ ㄨˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ u⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ u⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɐt̚² hɔːŋ²¹ jɐt̚⁵ mɐt̚²/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ u⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ u⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɐt̚² hɔːŋ²¹ jɐt̚⁵ mɐt̚²/

there is always one thing to conquer another; everything has its vanquisher


一通百通

ㄧ ㄊㄨㄥ ㄅㄞˇ ㄊㄨㄥ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ paːk̚³ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ paːk̚³ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

一法通，百法通 一法通，百法通#Chinese

Short for 一法通，百法通 (yī fǎ tōng, bǎi fǎ tōng).


一誤再誤

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ u⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡saɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ ŋ̍²² t͡sɔːi̯³³ ŋ̍²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ u⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡saɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ ŋ̍²² t͡sɔːi̯³³ ŋ̍²²/

to make one error after another; to keep on making mistakes

You should go and see a doctor at once. You mustn't put it off any more.

Nǐ zhè bìng yào zhuājǐn zhì, kě bùnéng yīwùzàiwù le.

你這病要抓緊治，可不能一誤再誤了。

你这病要抓紧治，可不能一误再误了。


一法通，百法通

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

一法通，萬法通 一法通，萬法通#Chinese

一法通，万法通 一法通，万法通#Chinese

Synonym of 一法通，萬法通／一法通，万法通 (yī fǎ tōng, wàn fǎ tōng)


τοὐναντίον

head

τοὐνᾰντῐ́ον • (tounantíon)

τοὐνᾰντῐ́ον (canonical)
tounantíon (romanization)

Contraction of τὸ ἐνᾰντῐ́ον (tò enantíon).


一推六二五

ㄧ ㄊㄨㄟ ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄦˋ ㄨˇ

yī tuī liù èr wǔ [Phonetic:yì tuī liù èr wǔ]

и туй лю эр у

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ li̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ u²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

一退六二五 一退六二五#Chinese

Alternative form of 一退六二五 (yī tuì liù èr wǔ, “to evade (or deny) all responsibility”)


一息尚存

ㄧ ㄒㄧ ㄕㄤˋ ㄘㄨㄣˊ

ㄧ ㄒㄧˊ ㄕㄤˋ ㄘㄨㄣˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕi⁵⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ t͡sʰu̯ən³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕi³⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ t͡sʰu̯ən³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɪk̚⁵ sœːŋ²² t͡sʰyːn²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕi⁵⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ t͡sʰu̯ən³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɕi³⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ t͡sʰu̯ən³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɪk̚⁵ sœːŋ²² t͡sʰyːn²¹/

I'll work hard for the Party as long as I live.

Wǒ zhǐyào yīxīshàngcún, jiùyào nǔlì wèi Dǎng gōngzuò.

我只要一息尚存，就要努力為黨工作。

我只要一息尚存，就要努力为党工作。

so long as one still has a breath left; till one's last gasp


一時半刻

ㄧ ㄕˊ ㄅㄢˋ ㄎㄜˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ pän⁵¹⁻⁵³ kʰɤ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹ puːn³³ hɐk̚⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ pän⁵¹⁻⁵³ kʰɤ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹ puːn³³ hɐk̚⁵/

He won't be back for a little while yet.

他一時半刻還回不來。

他一时半刻还回不来。


一手包辦

ㄧ ㄕㄡˇ ㄅㄠ ㄅㄢˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pɑʊ̯⁵⁵ pän⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐu̯³⁵ paːu̯⁵⁵ paːn²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pɑʊ̯⁵⁵ pän⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐu̯³⁵ paːu̯⁵⁵ paːn²²/

to keep everything in one's own hands; to take everything on oneself


一團漆黑

ㄧ ㄊㄨㄢˊ ㄑㄧ ㄏㄟ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰu̯än³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ xeɪ̯⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʰyːn²¹ t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ haːk̚⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰu̯än³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ xeɪ̯⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʰyːn²¹ t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ haːk̚⁵/

(figuratively) absolutely ignorant; completely in the dark

It is completely wrong to describe our work as an utter failure.

Bǎ wǒmen de gōngzuò miáohuì chéng yītuánqīhēi shì wánquán cuòwù de.

把我們的工作描繪成一團漆黑是完全錯誤的。

把我们的工作描绘成一团漆黑是完全错误的。


一團和氣

ㄧ ㄊㄨㄢˊ ㄏㄜˊ ㄑㄧˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰu̯än³⁵ xɤ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʰyːn²¹ wɔː²¹ hei̯³³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰu̯än³⁵ xɤ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʰyːn²¹ wɔː²¹ hei̯³³/

To let things slide for the sake of peace and friendship when a person has clearly gone wrong, and refrain from principled argument. Or to touch on the matter lightly instead of going into it thoroughly, so as to keep on good terms.

1937, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《反對自由主義》 (Combat Liberalism), 《毛澤東選集》 (Selected Works of Mao Zedong). English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Míngzhī bùduì, yě bù tóng tāmen zuò yuánzé shàng de zhēnglùn, rèn qí xiàqù, qiú dé hépíng hé qīnrè. Huòzhě qīngmiáodànxiě de shuō yī dùn, bù zuò chèdǐ jiějué, bǎochí yītuánhéqì.

明知不對，也不同他們作原則上的爭論，任其下去，求得和平和親熱。或者輕描淡寫地說一頓，不作徹底解決，保持一團和氣。

明知不对，也不同他们作原则上的争论，任其下去，求得和平和亲热。或者轻描淡写地说一顿，不作彻底解决，保持一团和气。

to keep on good terms with everyone at the expense of principle; to keep on the right side of everyone


一掃而光

ㄧ ㄙㄠˇ ㄦˊ ㄍㄨㄤ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ sɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ku̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ sou̯³³ jiː²¹ kʷɔːŋ⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ sɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ku̯ɑŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ sou̯³³ jiː²¹ kʷɔːŋ⁵⁵/

一掃而空 一掃而空#Chinese

一扫而空 一扫而空#Chinese


漆黑一團

ㄑㄧ ㄏㄟ ㄧ ㄊㄨㄢˊ

/t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ xeɪ̯⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰu̯än³⁵/

/t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ hɐk̚⁵ jɐt̚⁵ tʰyːn²¹/

/t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ xeɪ̯⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰu̯än³⁵/

/t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ hɐk̚⁵ jɐt̚⁵ tʰyːn²¹/

Many Party members are still in a fog about Chinese history, whether of the last hundred years or of ancient times.

1941, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《改造我們的學習》 (Reform Our Study), 《毛澤東選集》 (Selected Works of Mao Zedong). English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Bùlùn shì jìn bǎinián de hé gǔdài de Zhōngguóshǐ, zài xǔduō Dǎngyuán de xīnmù zhōng háishì qīhēiyītuán.

不論是近百年的和古代的中國史，在許多黨員的心目中還是漆黑一團。

不论是近百年的和古代的中国史，在许多党员的心目中还是漆黑一团。

With this attitude, he chops up history, knows only ancient Greece but not China and is in a fog about the China of yesterday and the day before yesterday.

Zài zhè zhǒng tàidù xià, jiùshì gēduàn lìshǐ, zhǐ dǒngde Xīlà, bù dǒngde Zhōngguó, duìyú Zhōngguó zuótiān hé qiántiān de miànmù qīhēiyītuán.

在這種態度下，就是割斷歷史，只懂得希臘，不懂得中國，對於中國昨天和前天的面目漆黑一團。

在这种态度下，就是割断历史，只懂得希腊，不懂得中国，对于中国昨天和前天的面目漆黑一团。

一團漆黑 一團漆黑#Chinese

一团漆黑 一团漆黑#Chinese


一身是膽

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ tän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐn⁵⁵ siː²² taːm³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ tän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐn⁵⁵ siː²² taːm³⁵/

to know no fear; to be absolutely fearless


一身兩役

ㄧ ㄕㄣ ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄧˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐn⁵⁵ lœːŋ¹³ jɪk̚²/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐn⁵⁵ lœːŋ¹³ jɪk̚²/

to hold two jobs at the same time; to serve in a dual capacity


水天一色

ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄧ ㄙㄜˋ

/ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ sɤ⁵¹/

/sɵy̯³⁵ tʰiːn⁵⁵ jɐt̚⁵ sɪk̚⁵/

/ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ sɤ⁵¹/

/sɵy̯³⁵ tʰiːn⁵⁵ jɐt̚⁵ sɪk̚⁵/

The sunset is flying together with lonely wild goose, and the autumn water and the sky at the horizon are of one hue.

675, 王勃 (Wang Bo), 《滕王閣序》 (Tengwang Ge Xu), translated based on the Wikisource translation.

Luòxiá yǔ gūwù qí fēi, qiūshuǐ gòng chángtiān yīsè.

落霞與孤鶩齊飛，秋水共長天一色。

落霞与孤鹜齐飞，秋水共长天一色。

the water and the sky merge in one color


孑然一身

ㄐㄧㄝˊ ㄖㄢˊ ㄧ ㄕㄣ

цзежаньишэнь

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵ ʐän³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵/

/kʰiːt̚³ jiːn²¹ jɐt̚⁵ sɐn⁵⁵/

/kiɛt̚³²⁻⁴ liɛn²⁴⁻²² it̚³²⁻⁴ sin⁴⁴/

/kiɛt̚³²⁻⁴ ziɛn²³⁻³³ it̚³²⁻⁴ sin⁴⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵ ʐän³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵/

/kʰiːt̚³ jiːn²¹ jɐt̚⁵ sɐn⁵⁵/

/kiɛt̚³²⁻⁴ liɛn²⁴⁻²² it̚³²⁻⁴ sin⁴⁴/

/kiɛt̚³²⁻⁴ ziɛn²³⁻³³ it̚³²⁻⁴ sin⁴⁴/

all alone in the world, with no relatives or friends; solitary


hyvä on

fine, all right, very well (expression of (possibly reluctant) agreement)


一失足成千古恨

ㄧ ㄕ ㄗㄨˊ ㄔㄥˊ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄍㄨˇ ㄏㄣˋ

yī shīzú chéng qiāngǔ hèn [Phonetic:yì shīzú chéng qiāngǔ hèn]

и шицзу чэн цяньгу хэнь

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡su³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹ xən⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐt̚⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵ sɪŋ²¹ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ kuː³⁵ hɐn²²/

a single slip may cause lasting sorrow; the error of a moment becomes the regret of a lifetime

一失足成千古恨，再回頭已百年身／一失足成千古恨，再回头已百年身

yī shīzú chéng qiāngǔ hèn, zài huítóu yǐ bǎinián shēn


一退六二五

ㄧ ㄊㄨㄟˋ ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄦˋ ㄨˇ

yī tuì liù èr wǔ [Phonetic:yí tuì liù èr wǔ]

и туй лю эр у

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ li̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ u²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Originally an abacus formula (珠算口訣) for converting between hexadecimal and decimal systems of weights, meaning 1/16 = .0625.
Pun on 退 (tuì, “push back”) → 推 (tuī, “evade”).

push back one (column of digits) and .625


一失足成千古風流人物

ㄧ ㄕ ㄗㄨˊ ㄔㄥˊ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄍㄨˇ ㄈㄥ ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄖㄣˊ ㄨˋ

jat¹ sat¹ zuk¹ sing⁴ cin¹ gu² fung¹ lau⁴ jan⁴ mat⁶⁻²

yī shīzú chéng qiāngǔ fēngliú rénwù [Phonetic:yì shīzú chéng qiāngǔ fēngliú rénwù]

i¹ shih¹-tsu² chʻêng² chʻien¹-ku³ fêng¹-liu² jên²-wu⁴

yī shr̄-dzú chéng chyān-gǔ fēng-lyóu rén-wù

i shytzwu cherng chianguu fengliou renwuh

и шицзу чэн цяньгу фэнлю жэньу

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡su³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹ fɤŋ⁵⁵ li̯oʊ̯³⁵ ʐən³⁵ u⁵¹/

yāt sāt jūk sìhng chīn gú fūng làuh yàhn mát

jat⁷ sat⁷ dzuk⁷ sing⁴ tsin¹ gu² fung¹ lau⁴ jan⁴ mat⁹⁻²

yed¹ sed¹ zug¹ xing⁴ qin¹ gu² fung¹ leo⁴ yen⁴ med⁶⁻²

/jɐt̚⁵ sɐt̚⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵ sɪŋ²¹ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ kuː³⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵ lɐu̯²¹ jɐn²¹ mɐt̚²⁻³⁵/

[Phonetic: yì shīzú chéng qiāngǔ fēngliú rénwù]

Blend of the idiom 一失足成千古恨 (yī shīzú chéng qiāngǔ hèn, “a single slip may cause lasting sorrow”) and a line from 念奴嬌·赤壁懷古.

zh-l

(neologism, humorous) a single slip may bring everlasting fame


風靡一時

/fɤŋ⁵⁵ mi²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/fʊŋ⁵⁵ mei̯¹³ jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹/

/fɤŋ⁵⁵ mi²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/fʊŋ⁵⁵ mei̯¹³ jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹/

風行一時 風行一時#Chinese

风行一时 风行一时#Chinese

Synonym of 風行一時／风行一时 (fēngxíngyīshí, “to be popular for a while; to be all the rage”)


風行一時

ㄈㄥ ㄒㄧㄥˊ ㄧ ㄕˊ

/fɤŋ⁵⁵ ɕiŋ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/fʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐŋ²¹ jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹/

/fɤŋ⁵⁵ ɕiŋ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/fʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐŋ²¹ jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹/

to be popular for a while; to be all the rage


on the brink

Rich countries must sign a “historic pact” with the poor on the climate, or “we will be doomed”, the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has warned, as a deepening gulf between the developed and developing world has put climate talks on the brink.

2022 November 4, Fiona Harvey, “UN chief warns ‘we will be doomed’ without historic climate pact”, in The Guardian:


一去不返

ㄧ ㄑㄩˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄈㄢˇ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰy⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ fän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ hɵy̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ faːn³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰy⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ fän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ hɵy̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ faːn³⁵/

一去不復返 一去不復返#Chinese

一去不复返 一去不复返#Chinese

Synonym of 一去不復返／一去不复返 (yīqùbùfùfǎn, “gone forever; gone never to return”)


一偏之見

ㄧ ㄆㄧㄢ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄢˋ

ипяньчжицзянь

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/


一平二調

ㄧ ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄦˋ ㄉㄧㄠˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ti̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ti̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

平均主義 平均主義#Chinese

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

(historical) equalitarianism (平均主義) and indiscriminate transfer of resources (*無償調撥) in the people's communes during the Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China


一去不復返

desc

→ Vietnamese: một đi không trở lại (calque)

ㄧ ㄑㄩˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄈㄨˋ ㄈㄢˇ

ицюйбуфуфань

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰy⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ fu⁵¹ fän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ hɵy̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ fʊk̚² faːn³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ hɵy̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ fʊk̚² faːn³⁵/

From the following song attributed to Jing Ke in 《史記·刺客列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Assassins).

Bleakly and weakly the wind blows; cold the Yi river flows. The valiant man, once gone, never comes back.

The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Fēng xiāoxiāo xī Yìshuǐ hán, zhuàngshì yī qù xī bù fùhuán!

風蕭蕭兮易水寒，壯士一去兮不復還！

风萧萧兮易水寒，壮士一去兮不复还！

The yellow crane, once gone, never comes back; the white clouds, for one thousand years, drift aloft carefreely.

8th century CE, 崔顥 (Cui Hao), 黃鶴樓 (Huánghèlóu) "Yellow Crane Tower"

Huánghè yīqùbùfùfǎn, báiyún qiānzǎi kōng yōuyōu.

黃鶴一去不復返，白雲千載空悠悠。

黄鹤一去不复返，白云千载空悠悠。

The days of national disunity and chaos which the people detested are gone, never to return.

1957, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《關於正確處理人民內部矛盾的問題》 (On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Rénmín suǒ yàn'è de guójiā fēnliè hé hùnluàn de júmiàn, yǐjīng yīqùbùfùfǎn le.

人民所厭惡的國家分裂和混亂的局面，已經一去不復返了。

人民所厌恶的国家分裂和混乱的局面，已经一去不复返了。

List of Records of the Grand Historian chapters#Biographies


一抔黃土

ㄧ ㄆㄡˊ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄊㄨˇ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰoʊ̯³⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰoʊ̯³⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

(figuratively) declining, insignificant reactionary force


串通一氣

ㄔㄨㄢˋ ㄊㄨㄥ ㄧ ㄑㄧˋ

чуаньтунъици

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/

/t͡sʰyːn³³ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ jɐt̚⁵ hei̯³³/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/

/t͡sʰyːn³³ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ jɐt̚⁵ hei̯³³/

to work hand in glove; to act in collusion


一錢不值

ㄧ ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɪk̚²/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɪk̚²/

not worth a penny; utterly worthless; mere trash


一面之詞

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ mi̯ɛn⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡sʰz̩³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ miːn²² t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡sʰiː²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ mi̯ɛn⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡sʰz̩³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ miːn²² t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡sʰiː²¹/

the statement of only one of the parties


一年到頭兒

ㄧ ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄉㄠˋ ㄊㄡˊㄦ

иняньдаотоур

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰɤʊ̯ɻʷ³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰɤʊ̯ɻʷ³⁵/

一年到頭 一年到頭#Chinese

一年到头 一年到头#Chinese

(Mandarin) Erhua form of 一年到頭／一年到头 (yīniándàotóu, “throughout the year; all the year round”).


一暴十寒

ㄧ ㄆㄨˋ ㄕˊ ㄏㄢˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ pʰu⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ xän³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ pʊk̚² sɐp̚² hɔːn²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ pʰu⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ xän³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ pʊk̚² sɐp̚² hɔːn²¹/

Suppose the case of the most easily growing thing in the world; if you let it have one day's genial heat, and then expose it for ten days to cold, it will not be able to grow.

Mencius, c. 4ᵗʰ century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Suī yǒu tiānxià yì shēng zhī wù yě, yīrì pù zhī, shírì hán zhī, wèi yǒu néng shēng zhě yě.

雖有天下易生之物也，一日暴之、十日寒之，未有能生者也。

虽有天下易生之物也，一日暴之、十日寒之，未有能生者也。

(figurative) to work hard for one day and do nothing for ten; to work by fits and starts; to act without perseverance or persistence


BOPUS

2019, Molly Fosco, Talking Shop: Can Click and Collect Challenge Amazon?, 10 March 2019, OZY.
Despite evidence to the contrary at my local Target that evening, the option to buy online and pick up in store (BOPUS) is becoming increasingly popular throughout the U.S.

(retail) Acronym of buy online, pick up in store.


一年到頭

ㄧ ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄉㄠˋ ㄊㄡˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰoʊ̯³⁵/

ㄧ ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄉㄠˋ ㄊㄡˊㄦ

иняньдаотоур

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰɤʊ̯ɻʷ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ niːn²¹ tou̯³³ tʰɐu̯²¹/

/i²⁴ n̠ʲə̃¹³ tɒu̯⁴⁵ tʰəu̯¹³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰoʊ̯³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰɤʊ̯ɻʷ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ niːn²¹ tou̯³³ tʰɐu̯²¹/

/i²⁴ n̠ʲə̃¹³ tɒu̯⁴⁵ tʰəu̯¹³/


一偏之論

ㄧ ㄆㄧㄢ ㄓ ㄌㄨㄣˋ

ипяньчжилунь

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ lu̯ən⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ pʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ lɵn²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ lu̯ən⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ pʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ lɵn²²/


一脈相承

ㄧ ㄇㄞˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄔㄥˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ maɪ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɐk̚² sœːŋ⁵⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ maɪ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ mɐk̚² sœːŋ⁵⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

to come down in one continuous line; can be traced to the same origin


一溜歪斜

ㄧ ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄨㄞ ㄒㄧㄝˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ li̯oʊ̯⁵¹ waɪ̯⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ li̯oʊ̯⁵¹ waɪ̯⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

(dialectal) (to walk, etc.) unsteadily in a zigzag


一來二去

ㄧ ㄌㄞˊ ㄦˋ ㄑㄩˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ laɪ̯³⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰy⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ lɔːi̯²¹ jiː²² hɵy̯³³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ laɪ̯³⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰy⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ lɔːi̯²¹ jiː²² hɵy̯³³/

As they often work together in the fields, they have got to know each other quite well.

Tāmen cháng zài dì li yīkuàir gànhuó, yīlái'èrqù de yě jiù shú le.

他們常在地裡一塊兒幹活，一來二去地也就熟了。

他们常在地里一块儿干活，一来二去地也就熟了。

in the course of contacts; gradually; little by little


一鱗半爪

ㄧ ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄅㄢˋ ㄓㄠˇ

илиньбаньчжао

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ lin³⁵ pän⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ lɵn²¹ puːn³³ t͡saːu̯³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ lin³⁵ pän⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ lɵn²¹ puːn³³ t͡saːu̯³⁵/


一己之私

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ sz̩⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ kei̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ siː⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ sz̩⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ kei̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ siː⁵⁵/


一揮而就

ㄧ ㄏㄨㄟ ㄦˊ ㄐㄧㄡˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ fɐi̯⁵⁵ jiː²¹ t͡sɐu̯²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ fɐi̯⁵⁵ jiː²¹ t͡sɐu̯²²/

a flourish of the pen and it's done; to finish a piece of writing or a painting at one go


pan con pan, comida de tontos

Literally, “bread with bread, food of fools”, or more loosely translated as “a bread sandwich is a fool's food”.

lit

merging very similar things or always doing the same thing is boring and unsatisfactory


一己之見

ㄧ ㄐㄧˇ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄢˋ

ицзичжицзянь

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ kei̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ kiːn³³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ kei̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ kiːn³³/


一環扣一環

ㄧ ㄏㄨㄢˊ ㄎㄡˋ ㄧ ㄏㄨㄢˊ

yī huán kòu yī huán [Phonetic:yì huán kòu yì huán]

и хуань коу и хуань

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu̯än³⁵ kʰoʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu̯än³⁵/


head

nunca digas de esta agua no beberé, ni este cura no es mi padre

Literally, “never say I won't drink from this water, nor this priest is not my father”.

lit

nunca digas de esta agua no beberé#Spanish

Alternative form of nunca digas de esta agua no beberé


各執一端

ㄍㄜˋ ㄓˊ ㄧ ㄉㄨㄢ

/kɤ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tu̯än⁵⁵/

/kɤ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tu̯än⁵⁵/


一回生，二回熟

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu̯eɪ̯³⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ xu̯eɪ̯³⁵ ʂu³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu̯eɪ̯³⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ xu̯eɪ̯³⁵ ʂoʊ̯³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ wuːi̯²¹ sɐŋ⁵⁵ jiː²² wuːi̯²¹ sʊk̚²/

first time strangers, second time friends; to soon get to know each other

first time awkward, second time skillful; difficult at first, easy later on


一個心眼

ㄧ ㄍㄜˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄧㄢˇ

и гэ синьянь

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ kɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

ㄧ ㄍㄜˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄧㄢˇㄦ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ kɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ jɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ kɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ kɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ jɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/


一得之功

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ kʊŋ⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ kʊŋ⁵⁵/

As against this, vulgar “practical people” respect experience but despise theory, and therefore cannot have a comprehensive view of an entire objective process, lack clear direction and long-range perspective, and are complacent over occasional successes and glimpses of the truth.

1937, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《實踐論》 (On Practice), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Yōngsú de shìwùzhǔyìjiā bùshì zhèyàng, tāmen zūnzhòng jīngyàn ér kànqīng lǐlùn, yīn'ér bùnéng tōngguān kèguān guòchéng de quántǐ, quēfá míngquè de fāngzhēn, méiyǒu yuǎndà de qiántú, zhānzhānzìxǐ yú yīdézhīgōng hé yīkǒngzhījiàn.

庸俗的事務主義家不是這樣，他們尊重經驗而看輕理論，因而不能通觀客觀過程的全體，缺乏明確的方針，沒有遠大的前途，沾沾自喜於一得之功和一孔之見。

庸俗的事务主义家不是这样，他们尊重经验而看轻理论，因而不能通观客观过程的全体，缺乏明确的方针，没有远大的前途，沾沾自喜于一得之功和一孔之见。


一定之規

ㄧ ㄉㄧㄥˋ ㄓ ㄍㄨㄟ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tiŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ku̯eɪ̯⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tiŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ku̯eɪ̯⁵⁵/


一個心眼兒

ㄧ ㄍㄜˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄧㄢˇㄦ

и гэ синьяньр

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ kɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ jɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ kɔː³³ sɐm⁵⁵ ŋaːn¹³ jiː²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ kɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ jɑɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ kɔː³³ sɐm⁵⁵ ŋaːn¹³ jiː²¹/

一個心眼 一個心眼#Chinese

一个心眼 一个心眼#Chinese

(Mandarin) Erhua form of 一個心眼／一个心眼 (yī gè xīnyǎn).


各執一詞

/kɤ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡sʰz̩³⁵/

/kɔːk̚³ t͡sɐp̚⁵ jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiː²¹/

/kɤ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ t͡sʰz̩³⁵/

/kɔːk̚³ t͡sɐp̚⁵ jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiː²¹/


兩不怕

ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄆㄚˋ

/li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ pʰä⁵¹/

/li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ pʰä⁵¹/

一不怕苦，二不怕死 一不怕苦，二不怕死#Chinese

(officialese) Synonym of 一不怕苦，二不怕死 (yī bùpà kǔ, èr bùpà sǐ, “to fear neither hardship nor death”)


一唱百和

when one starts singing, all the others join in

ㄧ ㄔㄤˋ ㄅㄞˇ ㄏㄜˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ⁵¹ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ xɤ⁵¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ⁵¹ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ xɤ⁵¹/

(of a suggestion, etc.) to meet with general approval


竹籃兒打水

ㄓㄨˊ ㄌㄢˊㄦ ㄉㄚˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ

чжуланьрдашуй

/ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ lɑɻ³⁵ tä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ lɑɻ³⁵ tä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

竹籃打水 竹籃打水#Chinese

竹篮打水 竹篮打水#Chinese

(Mandarin) Erhua form of 竹籃打水／竹篮打水 (zhúlándǎshuǐ, “wasted effort”).


日以繼夜

ㄖˋ ㄧˇ ㄐㄧˋ ㄧㄝˋ

/ʐ̩⁵¹ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi⁵¹⁻⁵³ jɛ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚² jiː¹³ kɐi̯³³ jɛː²²/

/ʐ̩⁵¹ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi⁵¹⁻⁵³ jɛ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚² jiː¹³ kɐi̯³³ jɛː²²/

From 夜以繼日／夜以继日 (yèyǐjìrì).

zh-m

夜以繼日／夜以继日 (yèyǐjìrì)


一差兩訛

ㄧ ㄔㄚ ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄜˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ lœːŋ¹³ ŋɔː²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤ³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ lœːŋ¹³ ŋɔː²¹/

一差二錯 一差二錯#Chinese

一差二错 一差二错#Chinese

Synonym of 一差二錯／一差二错 (yīchā'èrcuò, “possible mistake or mishap”)


夜以繼日

ㄧㄝˋ ㄧˇ ㄐㄧˋ ㄖˋ

/jɛ⁵¹ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐ̩⁵¹/

/jɛː²² jiː¹³ kɐi̯³³ jɐt̚²/

/jɛ⁵¹ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐ̩⁵¹/

/jɛː²² jiː¹³ kɐi̯³³ jɐt̚²/

The duke of Zhou desired to unite in himself the virtues of those kings, those founders of the three dynasties, that he might display in his practice the four things which they did. If he saw any thing in them not suited to his time, he looked up and thought about it, from daytime into the night, and when he was fortunate enough to master the difficulty, he sat waiting for the morning.

Zhōugōng sī jiān sān wáng, yǐ shī sì shì, qí yǒu bùhé zhě, yǎng ér sī zhī, yèyǐjìrì. Xìng'ér dé zhī, zuò yǐ dài dàn.

周公思兼三王，以施四事，其有不合者，仰而思之，夜以繼日。幸而得之，坐以待旦。

周公思兼三王，以施四事，其有不合者，仰而思之，夜以继日。幸而得之，坐以待旦。


一差半錯

ㄧ ㄔㄚ ㄅㄢˋ ㄘㄨㄛˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ pän⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ puːn³³ t͡sʰɔː³³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ pän⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ puːn³³ t͡sʰɔː³³/

一差二錯 一差二錯#Chinese

一差二错 一差二错#Chinese


一本萬利

a small investment brings a 10,000-fold profit

ㄧ ㄅㄣˇ ㄨㄢˋ ㄌㄧˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pən²¹⁴⁻²¹ wän⁵¹⁻⁵³ li⁵¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pən²¹⁴⁻²¹ wän⁵¹⁻⁵³ li⁵¹/

to make big profits with a small capital


一定不易

ㄧ ㄉㄧㄥˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tiŋ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ i⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ tɪŋ²² pɐt̚⁵ jiː²¹/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tiŋ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ i⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ tɪŋ²² pɐt̚⁵ jiː²¹/

From 《淮南子·主術訓》.


一動不動

ㄧ ㄉㄨㄥˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄨㄥˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tʊŋ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ tʊŋ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʊŋ²² pɐt̚⁵ tʊŋ²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tʊŋ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ tʊŋ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ tʊŋ²² pɐt̚⁵ tʊŋ²²/

to not move an inch; to be perfectly still


一差二誤

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ jiː²² ŋ̍²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ jiː²² ŋ̍²²/

一差二錯 一差二錯#Chinese

一差二错 一差二错#Chinese


一不怕苦，二不怕死

ㄧ ㄅㄨˋ ㄆㄚˋ ㄎㄨˇ

ㄦˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄆㄚˋ ㄙˇ

/i⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ pʰä⁵¹ kʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ pʰä⁵¹ sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

A slogan circulated in the People's Liberation Army and popularized by Mao Zedong.

(officialese) to fear neither hardship nor death


一波未平，一波再起

hardly has one wave subsided when another rises

ㄧ ㄅㄛ ㄨㄟˋ ㄆㄧㄥˊ

ㄧ ㄅㄛ ㄗㄞˋ ㄑㄧˇ

и бо вэй пин

и бо цзай ци

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pu̯ɔ⁵⁵ weɪ̯⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pu̯ɔ⁵⁵ t͡saɪ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

一波未平，一波又起 一波未平，一波又起#Chinese

Synonym of 一波未平，一波又起 (yī bō wèi píng, yī bō yòu qǐ, “one trouble follows another”)


一步一個腳印兒

ㄧ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧ ㄍㄜˋ ㄐㄧㄠˇ ㄧㄣˋㄦ

yī bù yī gè jiǎoyìnr [Phonetic:yí bù yí gè jiǎoyìnr]

и бу и гэ цзяоиньр

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ pu⁵¹ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ kɤ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ iə̯ɻ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ pou̯²² jɐt̚⁵ kɔː³³ kœːk̚³ jɐn³³ jiː²¹/

一步一個腳印 一步一個腳印#Chinese

一步一个脚印 一步一个脚印#Chinese

(Mandarin) Erhua form of 一步一個腳印／一步一个脚印 (yī bù yī ge jiǎoyìn, “to work steadily and make solid progress”).


一筆抹倒

ㄧ ㄅㄧˇ ㄇㄛˇ ㄉㄠˇ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pi²¹⁴⁻²¹ mu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ tɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚³ tou̯³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚² tou̯³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚³ tou̯³⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚² tou̯³⁵/

一筆抹殺 一筆抹殺#Chinese

一笔抹杀 一笔抹杀#Chinese


一波未平，一波又起

ㄧ ㄅㄛ ㄨㄟˋ ㄆㄧㄥˊ

ㄧ ㄅㄛ ㄧㄡˋ ㄑㄧˇ

и бо вэй пин

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pu̯ɔ⁵⁵ weɪ̯⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pu̯ɔ⁵⁵ joʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɔː⁵⁵ mei̯²² pʰɪŋ²¹ jɐt̚⁵ pɔː⁵⁵ jɐu̯²² hei̯³⁵/


一筆抹殺

一笔抹杀
一筆抹煞
一筆抹摋

ㄧ ㄅㄧˇ ㄇㄛˇ ㄕㄚ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂä⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚³ saːt̚³/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚² saːt̚³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂä⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚³ saːt̚³/

/jɐt̚⁵ pɐt̚⁵ muːt̚² saːt̚³/

這些成績是不能一筆抹殺的。

这些成绩是不能一笔抹杀的。

to blot out at one stroke; to condemn out of hand; to totally negate


竹籃打水一場空

ㄓㄨˊ ㄌㄢˊ ㄉㄚˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄧ ㄔㄤˊ ㄎㄨㄥ

ㄓㄨˊ ㄌㄢˊ ㄉㄚˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄧ ㄔㄤˇ ㄎㄨㄥ

zhúlán dǎshuǐ yīchángkōng [Phonetic:zhúlándáshuǐyìchángkōng]

чжулань дашуй ичанкун

/ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ län³⁵ tä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵ kʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

zhúlán dǎshuǐ yīchǎngkōng [Phonetic:zhúlándáshuǐyìchǎngkōng]

/ʈ͡ʂu³⁵ län³⁵ tä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ kʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

as futile as drawing water with a bamboo basket


tẩu vi thượng sách

[təw˧˩ vi˧˧ tʰɨəŋ˧˨ʔ sajk̟̚˧˦]

[təw˧˨ vɪj˧˧ tʰɨəŋ˨˩ʔ ʂat̚˦˧˥]

[təw˧˨ vɪj˧˧ tʰɨəŋ˨˩ʔ sat̚˦˧˥]

[təw˨˩˦ vɪj˧˧ tʰɨəŋ˨˩˨ ʂat̚˦˥]

[təw˨˩˦ jɪj˧˧ tʰɨəŋ˨˩˨ sat̚˦˥]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-tẩu vi thượng sách.wav

Sino-Vietnamese word from 走為上策, composed of 走 (“fleeing”), 為 (“is”) and 上策 (“the best plan”), likely from a Chinese drama variant of 走為上計／走为上计 (tẩu vi thượng kế), the 36th of the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Compare Japanese 三十六計逃げるに如かず (Sanjūrokkei nigeru ni shikazu).

cog

(humorous) when in a pinch, the best course of action is to flee


一鼻孔出氣

ㄧ ㄅㄧˊ ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄔㄨ ㄑㄧˋ

yī bíkǒng chūqì [Phonetic:yì bíkǒng chūqì]

и бикун чуци

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pi³⁵ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ pei̯²² hʊŋ³⁵ t͡sʰɵt̚⁵ hei̯³³/

/jɐt̚⁵ pei̯²² hʊŋ³⁵ t͡sʰɵt̚⁵ hei̯³³/


一板一眼

one accented beat and one unaccented beat

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pän²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ paːn³⁵ jɐt̚⁵ ŋaːn¹³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pän²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ paːn³⁵ jɐt̚⁵ ŋaːn¹³/

(figuratively) following a prescribed pattern in speech or action; scrupulous and methodical


一板三眼

one accented beat and three unaccented beats

ㄧ ㄅㄢˇ ㄙㄢ ㄧㄢˇ

ибаньсаньянь

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pän²¹⁴⁻²¹ sän⁵⁵ jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ paːn³⁵ saːm⁵⁵ ŋaːn¹³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ pän²¹⁴⁻²¹ sän⁵⁵ jɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ paːn³⁵ saːm⁵⁵ ŋaːn¹³/

一板一眼 一板一眼#Chinese

Synonym of 一板一眼 (yībǎnyīyǎn, “scrupulous and methodical”)


一得之愚

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ y³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ y³⁵/


一髮千鈞

A thousand jun hangs from a strip of hair.

ㄧ ㄈㄚˋ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄐㄩㄣ

ㄧ ㄈㄚˇ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄐㄩㄣ

ифацяньцзюнь

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ fä⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕyn⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕyn⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ faːt̚³ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ kʷɐn⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ fä⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕyn⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕyn⁵⁵/

/jɐt̚⁵ faːt̚³ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ kʷɐn⁵⁵/

千鈞一髮 千鈞一髮#Chinese

千钧一发 千钧一发#Chinese

Synonym of 千鈞一髮／千钧一发 (qiānjūnyīfà, “imminent peril; a matter of life or death”)


惹是生非

ㄖㄜˇ ㄕˋ ㄕㄥ ㄈㄟ

/ʐɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ feɪ̯⁵⁵/

/jɛː¹³ siː²² sɐŋ⁵⁵ fei̯⁵⁵/

/ʐɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ feɪ̯⁵⁵/

/jɛː¹³ siː²² sɐŋ⁵⁵ fei̯⁵⁵/

to provoke a dispute; to stir up trouble


熱氣騰騰

ㄖㄜˋ ㄑㄧˋ ㄊㄥˊ ㄊㄥˊ

/ʐɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ tʰɤŋ³⁵ tʰɤŋ³⁵/

/jiːt̚² hei̯³³ tʰɐŋ²¹ tʰɐŋ²¹/

nyih^入 chi den den; nyih^入 chi den^去 den

/n̠ʲiɪʔ¹¹ t͡ɕʰi²² dən²² dən²³/

/n̠ʲiɪʔ¹¹ t͡ɕʰi²³ dən²² dən⁴⁴/

/ʐɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ tʰɤŋ³⁵ tʰɤŋ³⁵/

/jiːt̚² hei̯³³ tʰɐŋ²¹ tʰɐŋ²¹/

/n̠ʲiɪʔ¹¹ t͡ɕʰi²² dən²² dən²³/

/n̠ʲiɪʔ¹¹ t͡ɕʰi²³ dən²² dən⁴⁴/


仁人志士

ㄖㄣˊ ㄖㄣˊ ㄓˋ ㄕˋ

жэньжэньчжиши

žɛnʹžɛnʹčžiši

/ʐən³⁵ ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ jɐn²¹ t͡siː³³ siː²²/

/ʐən³⁵ ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ jɐn²¹ t͡siː³³ siː²²/


一定不移

ㄧ ㄉㄧㄥˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧˊ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tiŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ i³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ tiŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ i³⁵/

一定不易 一定不易#Chinese

Synonym of 一定不易 (yīdìngbùyì, “unalterable”)


熱情洋溢

ㄖㄜˋ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄧㄤˊ ㄧˋ

/ʐɤ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ jɑŋ³⁵ i⁵¹/

/jiːt̚² t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ jœːŋ²¹ jɐt̚²/

/ʐɤ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ jɑŋ³⁵ i⁵¹/

/jiːt̚² t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ jœːŋ²¹ jɐt̚²/


志士仁人

ㄓˋ ㄕˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄖㄣˊ

чжишижэньжэнь

čžišižɛnʹžɛnʹ

/ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/t͡siː³³ siː²² jɐn²¹ jɐn²¹/

/ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/t͡siː³³ siː²² jɐn²¹ jɐn²¹/


人煙稀少

ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄢ ㄒㄧ ㄕㄠˇ

жэньяньсишао

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ ɕi⁵⁵ ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐn²¹ jiːn⁵⁵ hei̯⁵⁵ siːu̯³⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ ɕi⁵⁵ ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐn²¹ jiːn⁵⁵ hei̯⁵⁵ siːu̯³⁵/


惹火燒身

ㄖㄜˇ ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄕㄠ ㄕㄣ

/ʐɤ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵/

/jɛː¹³ fɔː³⁵ siːu̯⁵⁵ sɐn⁵⁵/

/ʐɤ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵/

/jɛː¹³ fɔː³⁵ siːu̯⁵⁵ sɐn⁵⁵/


人煙輻輳

ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄢ ㄈㄨˊ ㄘㄡˋ

жэньяньфуцоу

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ fu³⁵ t͡sʰoʊ̯⁵¹/

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ fu³⁵ t͡sʰoʊ̯⁵¹/

人煙稠密 人煙稠密#Chinese

人烟稠密 人烟稠密#Chinese

Synonym of 人煙稠密／人烟稠密 (rényānchóumì, “to be densely populated”)


人煙浩穰

ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄢ ㄏㄠˋ ㄖㄤˊ

жэньяньхаожан

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ xɑʊ̯⁵¹ ʐɑŋ³⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ xɑʊ̯⁵¹ ʐɑŋ³⁵/

人煙稠密 人煙稠密#Chinese

人烟稠密 人烟稠密#Chinese


人煙湊集

ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄢ ㄘㄡˋ ㄐㄧˊ

жэньяньцоуцзи

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ t͡sʰoʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ t͡sʰoʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/

人煙稠密 人煙稠密#Chinese

人烟稠密 人烟稠密#Chinese


人煙稠密

ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄢ ㄔㄡˊ ㄇㄧˋ

жэньяньчоуми

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰoʊ̯³⁵ mi⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ jiːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰɐu̯²¹ mɐt̚²/

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰoʊ̯³⁵ mi⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ jiːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰɐu̯²¹ mɐt̚²/


人言可畏

ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄎㄜˇ ㄨㄟˋ

жэньянькэвэй

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ jiːn²¹ hɔː³⁵ wɐi̯³³/

/ʐən³⁵ jɛn³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ jiːn²¹ hɔː³⁵ wɐi̯³³/

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 76 (《詩經·鄭風·將仲子》)

lang

(《詩經·鄭風·將仲子》)

(《詩經·鄭風·將仲子》)

You, O Zhong, are to be loved,
But the talk of people, Is also to be feared.

The Classic of Poetry, c. 11ᵗʰ – 7ᵗʰ centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zhòng kě huái yě, rén zhī duō yán, yì kěwèi yě.

仲可懷也，人之多言，亦可畏也。

仲可怀也，人之多言，亦可畏也。


馬翻人仰

ㄇㄚˇ ㄈㄢ ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄤˇ

мафаньжэньян

/mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ fän⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵ jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ fän⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵ jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

人仰馬翻 人仰馬翻#Chinese

人仰马翻 人仰马翻#Chinese


馬仰人翻

ㄇㄚˇ ㄧㄤˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄈㄢ

маянжэньфань

/mä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ fän⁵⁵/

/maː¹³ jœːŋ¹³ jɐn²¹ faːn⁵⁵/

/mä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ fän⁵⁵/

/maː¹³ jœːŋ¹³ jɐn²¹ faːn⁵⁵/

人仰馬翻 人仰馬翻#Chinese

人仰马翻 人仰马翻#Chinese


流言蜚語

ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄈㄟ ㄩˇ

/li̯oʊ̯³⁵ jɛn³⁵ feɪ̯⁵⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/lɐu̯²¹ jiːn²¹ fei̯⁵⁵ jyː¹³/

/li̯oʊ̯³⁵ jɛn³⁵ feɪ̯⁵⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/lɐu̯²¹ jiːn²¹ fei̯⁵⁵ jyː¹³/


人仰馬翻

ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄤˇ ㄇㄚˇ ㄈㄢ

жэньянмафань

/ʐən³⁵ jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ fän⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ jœːŋ¹³ maː¹³ faːn⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ fän⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ jœːŋ¹³ maː¹³ faːn⁵⁵/

to be utterly routed; to suffer a crushing defeat


人心喪盡

ㄖㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄙㄤˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ

жэньсиньсанцзинь

/ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ sɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕin⁵¹/

/ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ sɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕin⁵¹/


收攬人心

ㄕㄡ ㄌㄢˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄣ

шоуланьжэньсинь

/ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ län²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ län²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

to curry favor with the public; to try to win popular support


刀俎餘生

ㄉㄠ ㄗㄨˇ ㄩˊ ㄕㄥ

/tɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡su²¹⁴⁻²¹ y³⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/

/tɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡su²¹⁴⁻²¹ y³⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/

虎口餘生 虎口餘生#Chinese

虎口余生 虎口余生#Chinese

Synonym of 虎口餘生／虎口余生 (hǔkǒuyúshēng, “to survive a disaster; to have a narrow escape”)


一差二錯

ㄧ ㄔㄚ ㄦˋ ㄘㄨㄛˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ jiː²² t͡sʰɔː³³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰaː⁵⁵ jiː²² t͡sʰɔː³³/


深入人心

ㄕㄣ ㄖㄨˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄣ

шэньжужэньсинь

šɛnʹžužɛnʹsinʹ

/ʂən⁵⁵ ʐu⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/sɐm⁵⁵ jɐp̚² jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/

/ʂən⁵⁵ ʐu⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/sɐm⁵⁵ jɐp̚² jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/

to strike root in the hearts of the people; to have a real impact on the people


邀買人心

ㄧㄠ ㄇㄞˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄣ

яомайжэньсинь

/jɑʊ̯⁵⁵ maɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/jiːu̯⁵⁵ maːi̯¹³ jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/

/jɑʊ̯⁵⁵ maɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/jiːu̯⁵⁵ maːi̯¹³ jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/


收買人心

ㄕㄡ ㄇㄞˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄣ

шоумайжэньсинь

/ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ maɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/sɐu̯⁵⁵ maːi̯¹³ jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/

/ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ maɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/sɐu̯⁵⁵ maːi̯¹³ jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/


人為刀俎，我為魚肉

ㄖㄣˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄉㄠ ㄗㄨˇ

ㄨㄛˇ ㄨㄟˊ ㄩˊ ㄖㄡˋ

жэнь вэй даоцзу

во вэй юйжоу

/ʐən³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡su²¹⁴⁻³⁵ wɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯³⁵ y³⁵ ʐoʊ̯⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ wɐi̯²¹ tou̯⁵⁵ t͡sɔː³⁵ ŋɔː¹³ wɐi̯²¹ jyː²¹ jʊk̚²/

From 《史記·項羽本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Xiang Yu).

Now they are like the butcher's knife and chopping block, and we are like the fish and meat, what's the use of saying goodbye?

Rújīn rén fāng wéi dāozǔ, wǒ wéi yúròu, hé cí wéi?

如今人方為刀俎，我為魚肉，何辭為？

如今人方为刀俎，我为鱼肉，何辞为？

to be the meat on somebody's chopping block

(figuratively) to be at somebody's mercy

List of Records of the Grand Historian chapters#Annals


相輔相成

ㄒㄧㄤ ㄈㄨˇ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄔㄥˊ

/ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/sœːŋ⁵⁵ fuː²² sœːŋ⁵⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

/siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² hu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² siɪŋ²⁴/

/siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu¹¹⁻⁵³ siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²⁴/

/siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu²¹⁻⁴¹ siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²³/

/siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu¹¹⁻⁵³ siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²⁴/

/siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu²¹⁻⁴¹ siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²³/

/siaŋ³³⁻²³ hu³⁵ siaŋ³³⁻²³ seŋ⁵⁵/

/ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/sœːŋ⁵⁵ fuː²² sœːŋ⁵⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

/siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² hu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻²² siɪŋ²⁴/

/siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu¹¹⁻⁵³ siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²⁴/

/siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu²¹⁻⁴¹ siɔŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²³/

/siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu¹¹⁻⁵³ siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²⁴/

/siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ hu²¹⁻⁴¹ siaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ siɪŋ²³/

/siaŋ³³⁻²³ hu³⁵ siaŋ³³⁻²³ seŋ⁵⁵/

This and the method of persuasion and education complement each other in resolving contradictions among the people.

Zhè tóng yòng shuōfú jiàoyù de fāngfǎ qù jiějué rénmín nèibù de máodùn, shì xiāngfǔxiāngchéng de liǎng gè fāngmiàn.

這同用說服教育的方法去解決人民內部的矛盾，是相輔相成的兩個方面。

这同用说服教育的方法去解决人民内部的矛盾，是相辅相成的两个方面。

to be mutually supporting; to complement each other


無蹤無影

ㄨˊ ㄗㄨㄥ ㄨˊ ㄧㄥˇ

/u³⁵ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ u³⁵ iŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/u³⁵ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ u³⁵ iŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

無影無蹤 無影無蹤#Chinese

无影无踪 无影无踪#Chinese

Synonym of 無影無蹤／无影无踪 (wúyǐngwúzōng, “without a trace; vanished into thin air”)


quoad sacra

With respect to religious observance or worship, as opposed to temporal matters.


身經百戰

ㄕㄣ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄅㄞˇ ㄓㄢˋ

шэньцзинбайчжань

/ʂən⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂän⁵¹/

/sɐn⁵⁵ kɪŋ⁵⁵ paːk̚³ t͡siːn³³/

/sin⁴⁴⁻²² kiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻²² pa(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ t͡siɛn²¹/

/sin⁴⁴⁻³³ kiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ pa(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ t͡siɛn¹¹/

/sin⁴⁴⁻³³ kiɪŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ pa(ʔ)³²⁻⁴¹ t͡siɛn²¹/

/ʂən⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂän⁵¹/

/sɐn⁵⁵ kɪŋ⁵⁵ paːk̚³ t͡siːn³³/


無影無跡

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ iã⁴²⁻²⁴ bo²⁴⁻²¹ t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo²⁴⁻²² iã⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ bo²⁴⁻²² t͡siaʔ⁵/

/bo²⁴⁻¹¹ iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo²⁴⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo²⁴⁻²² t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo¹³⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo¹³⁻²² t͡siaʔ³²/

/bɤ²³⁻³³ iã⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ bɤ²³⁻³³ t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo²⁴⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo²⁴⁻²² liaʔ³²/

/bo¹³⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo¹³⁻²² liaʔ³²/

/bo⁵⁵⁻¹¹ ĩã⁵²⁻³⁵ bo⁵⁵⁻¹¹ t͡siaʔ²/

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ iã⁴²⁻²⁴ bo²⁴⁻²¹ t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo²⁴⁻²² iã⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ bo²⁴⁻²² t͡siaʔ⁵/

/bo²⁴⁻¹¹ iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo²⁴⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo²⁴⁻²² t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo¹³⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo¹³⁻²² t͡siaʔ³²/

/bɤ²³⁻³³ iã⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ bɤ²³⁻³³ t͡siaʔ³²/

/bo²⁴⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo²⁴⁻²² liaʔ³²/

/bo¹³⁻²² iã⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bo¹³⁻²² liaʔ³²/

/bo⁵⁵⁻¹¹ ĩã⁵²⁻³⁵ bo⁵⁵⁻¹¹ t͡siaʔ²/

(Hakka, Teochew) to fabricate something out of thin air


kun pilliin vihelletään

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see kun pilliin vihelletään ("when the whistle is blown").

[--] kun pilliin vihelletään ja kansainväliset kovapanosammunnat alkaa et varmasti löydä itseäsi poterosta kyyhöttämästä.

[--] when the whistle is blown and the international live round shootings start you definitely will not find yourself crouched in a foxhole.

(military slang, humorous) when the war starts


me cago en San Pito Pato

me cago en la leche
me cago en la leche#Spanish

(euphemistic) Synonym of me cago en la leche


of its kind

It will be the biggest of its kind.

The car is the first of its kind, needing only water to carry it forward.


條不二直

/tiau²⁴⁻²² put̚⁵⁻²⁴ li⁴¹⁻²² tit̚²⁴/

/tiau²⁴⁻²² put̚³²⁻⁴ li²²⁻²¹ tit̚⁴/

/tiau²⁴⁻²² put̚⁵⁻²⁴ li⁴¹⁻²² tit̚²⁴/

/tiau²⁴⁻²² put̚³²⁻⁴ li²²⁻²¹ tit̚⁴/

(Quanzhou and Xiamen Hokkien) direct and plainspoken; straightforward


頭路理直

/tʰau¹³⁻²² lɔ²²⁻²¹ li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tit̚¹²¹/

/tʰau¹³⁻²² lɔ²²⁻²¹ li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ tit̚¹²¹/

(Zhangzhou Hokkien) direct and plainspoken; straightforward


頭路直

/tʰau²⁴⁻²² lɔ²²⁻²¹ tit̚⁴/

/tʰau¹³⁻²² lɔ²²⁻²¹ tit̚¹²¹/

/tʰau²⁴⁻²² lɔ²²⁻²¹ tit̚⁴/

/tʰau¹³⁻²² lɔ²²⁻²¹ tit̚¹²¹/

(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) direct and plainspoken; straightforward


頭理路直

/tʰau¹³⁻²² li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ lɔ²²⁻²¹ tit̚¹²¹/

/tʰau¹³⁻²² li⁵³⁻⁴⁴ lɔ²²⁻²¹ tit̚¹²¹/


肩不能挑擔，手不能提籃

unable to carry a load on one's shoulders or a basket in one's hands

ㄐㄧㄢ ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄊㄧㄠ ㄉㄢˋ

ㄕㄡˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄊㄧˊ ㄌㄢˊ

цзянь бунэн тяодань

шоу бунэн тилань

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ nɤŋ³⁵ tʰi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ tän⁵¹ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ nɤŋ³⁵ tʰi³⁵ län³⁵/

(figuratively) to lack physical strength and be incapable of manual labor


陰陽怪氣

ㄧㄣ ㄧㄤˊ ㄍㄨㄞˋ ㄑㄧˋ

/in⁵⁵ jɑŋ³⁵ ku̯aɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/

/jɐm⁵⁵ jœːŋ²¹ kʷaːi̯³³ hei̯³³/

/in⁵⁵ jɑŋ³⁵ ku̯aɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹/

/jɐm⁵⁵ jœːŋ²¹ kʷaːi̯³³ hei̯³³/


英雄無用武之地

ㄧㄥ ㄒㄩㄥˊ ㄨˊ ㄩㄥˋ ㄨˇ ㄓ ㄉㄧˋ

инсюн у юнъу чжи ди

/iŋ⁵⁵ ɕi̯ʊŋ³⁵ u³⁵ jʊŋ⁵¹ u²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ti⁵¹/

/jɪŋ⁵⁵ hʊŋ²¹ mou̯²¹ jʊŋ²² mou̯¹³ t͡siː⁵⁵ tei̯²²/

From 「英雄無所用武」 in 《三國志·諸葛亮傳》.

a hero with no place to display their prowess

(figuratively) to have no opportunity to display one's talents


a kocka el van vetve

a (“the”) + kocka (“die”) + el (“away”) + van (“is; here: has been”) + vetve (“cast”). Literally, “the die has been cast away”. El(…)vetve is the adverbial participle form of elvet (“to cast away”), with its prefix separated from the stem.

(idiomatic) the die is cast (the future is already determined; the recent actions are bound to have consequences)


千千萬萬

ㄑㄧㄢ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄨㄢˋ ㄨㄢˋ

цяньцяньваньвань

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ wän⁵¹⁻⁵³ wän⁵¹/

/t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ maːn²² maːn²²/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ wän⁵¹⁻⁵³ wän⁵¹/

/t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ maːn²² maːn²²/

AABB-type reduplication of 千萬／千万 (qiānwàn).

zh-l

千萬／千万 (qiānwàn)

zh-AABB

As far back as 1905 Lenin pointed out emphatically that our literature and art should “serve … the millions and tens of millions of working people”.

1942, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《在延安文藝座談會上的講話》 (Talks at the Yenan Forum on Literature and Art), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Lièníng hái zài yījiǔlíngwǔ nián jiù yǐ zhuózhòng zhǐchū guò, wǒmen de wényì yīngdāng “wèi qiānqiānwànwàn láodòng rénmín fúwù”.

列寧還在一九〇五年就已著重指出過，我們的文藝應當「為千千萬萬勞動人民服務」。

列宁还在一九〇五年就已着重指出过，我们的文艺应当「为千千万万劳动人民服务」。


決一勝負

ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄧ ㄕㄥˋ ㄈㄨˋ

/t͡ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ i⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ fu⁵¹/

/kʰyːt̚³ jɐt̚⁵ sɪŋ³³ fuː²²/

/t͡ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ i⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ fu⁵¹/

/kʰyːt̚³ jɐt̚⁵ sɪŋ³³ fuː²²/


取之無禁

ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄣˋ

цюйчжиуцзинь

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ u³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹/

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ u³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹/

取之不盡，用之不竭 取之不盡，用之不竭#Chinese

取之不尽，用之不竭 取之不尽，用之不竭#Chinese

Synonym of 取之不盡，用之不竭／取之不尽，用之不竭 (qǔ zhī bù jìn, yòng zhī bù jié, “(of resources) inexhaustible”)


肩不能挑，手不能提

incapable of carrying anything either on one's shoulders or in one's hands

ㄐㄧㄢ ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄊㄧㄠ

ㄕㄡˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄋㄥˊ ㄊㄧˊ

цзянь бунэн тяо

шоу бунэн ти

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ nɤŋ³⁵ tʰi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ nɤŋ³⁵ tʰi³⁵/

I then used to feel it undignified to do even a little manual labour, such as carrying my own luggage in the presence of my fellow students, who were incapable of carrying anything, either on their shoulders or in their hands.

Zài yī dà qún jiān bùnéng tiāo shǒu bùnéng tí de xuéshēng miànqián zuò yīdiǎn láodòng de shì, bǐrú zìjǐ tiāo xínglǐ ba, yě juéde bù xiàng yàngzi.

在一大群肩不能挑手不能提的學生面前做一點勞動的事，比如自己挑行李吧，也覺得不像樣子。

在一大群肩不能挑手不能提的学生面前做一点劳动的事，比如自己挑行李吧，也觉得不像样子。

肩不能挑擔，手不能提籃 肩不能挑擔，手不能提籃#Chinese

肩不能挑担，手不能提篮 肩不能挑担，手不能提篮#Chinese

(figuratively) Synonym of 肩不能挑擔，手不能提籃／肩不能挑担，手不能提篮 (jiān bùnéng tiāodàn, shǒu bùnéng tílán, “unable to do manual labor”)


取之不竭

ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

取之不盡，用之不竭 取之不盡，用之不竭#Chinese

取之不尽，用之不竭 取之不尽，用之不竭#Chinese


用之不竭

ㄩㄥˋ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ

/jʊŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

/jʊŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

取之不盡，用之不竭 取之不盡，用之不竭#Chinese

取之不尽，用之不竭 取之不尽，用之不竭#Chinese


取之不盡，用之有餘

取之不尽，用之有余
取之不尽，用之有馀

ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ

ㄩㄥˋ ㄓ ㄧㄡˇ ㄩˊ

chʻü³ chih¹ pu⁴ chin⁴, yung⁴ chih¹ yu³ yü²

цюй чжи бу цзинь

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ jʊŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ y³⁵/

取之不盡，用之不竭 取之不盡，用之不竭#Chinese

取之不尽，用之不竭 取之不尽，用之不竭#Chinese


jó tett helyébe jót várj

jótett helyébe jót várj
jótett helyébe jót várj#Hungarian


取之不盡，用之不竭

ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ

ㄩㄥˋ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ

ceoi² zi¹ bat¹ zeon⁶, jung⁶ zi¹ bat¹ kit³

chʻü³ chih¹ pu⁴ chin⁴, yung⁴ chih¹ pu⁴ chieh²

цюй чжи бу цзинь

юн чжи бу цзе

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ jʊŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

tsoey² dzi¹ bat⁷ dzoen⁶, jung⁶ dzi¹ bat⁷ kit⁸

/t͡sʰɵy̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɵn²² jʊŋ²² t͡siː⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ kʰiːt̚³/

From the Former Ode on the Red Cliffs by Su Shi, in the form 「取之無禁，用之不竭」.

They provide literature and art with an inexhaustible source, their only source.

Tāmen shì yīqiè wénxué yìshù de qǔ zhī bù jìn, yòng zhī bù jié de wéiyī de yuánquán.

它們是一切文學藝術的取之不盡、用之不竭的唯一的源泉。

它们是一切文学艺术的取之不尽、用之不竭的唯一的源泉。


莫予毒也

ㄇㄛˋ ㄩˊ ㄉㄨˊ ㄧㄝˇ

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ y³⁵ tu³⁵ jɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ y³⁵ tu³⁵ jɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

人莫予毒 人莫予毒#Chinese


振振有詞

ㄓㄣˋ ㄓㄣˋ ㄧㄡˇ ㄘˊ

чжэньчжэньюцы

čžɛnʹčžɛnʹjucy

/ʈ͡ʂən⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂən⁵¹ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡sʰz̩³⁵/

/t͡sɐn³³ t͡sɐn³³ jɐu̯¹³ t͡sʰiː²¹/

/t͡sɐn³³ t͡sɐn³³ jɐu̯¹³ t͡sʰiː²¹/


振聾發聵

ㄓㄣˋ ㄌㄨㄥˊ ㄈㄚ ㄎㄨㄟˋ

чжэньлунфакуй

/ʈ͡ʂən⁵¹ lʊŋ³⁵ fä⁵⁵ kʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

/t͡sɐn³³ lʊŋ²¹ faːt̚³ kʰuːi̯³⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂən⁵¹ lʊŋ³⁵ fä⁵⁵ kʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

/t͡sɐn³³ lʊŋ²¹ faːt̚³ kʰuːi̯³⁵/

to rouse the deaf and awaken the unhearing; to awaken the deaf; to enlighten the benighted


人命關天

ㄖㄣˊ ㄇㄧㄥˋ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄊㄧㄢ

жэньмингуаньтянь

/ʐən³⁵ miŋ⁵¹ ku̯än⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ mɪŋ²² kʷaːn⁵⁵ tʰiːn⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ miŋ⁵¹ ku̯än⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ mɪŋ²² kʷaːn⁵⁵ tʰiːn⁵⁵/

a case involving human life is to be treated with the utmost care

(a matter) of life and death; of vital importance


人莫予毒

ㄖㄣˊ ㄇㄛˋ ㄩˊ ㄉㄨˊ

/ʐən³⁵ mu̯ɔ⁵¹ y³⁵ tu³⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ mu̯ɔ⁵¹ y³⁵ tu³⁵/

Found in the chapters 《僖公二十八年》 (28th year of Duke Xi) and 《宣公十二年》 (12th year of Duke Xuan) of 《左傳》 (Zuo zhuan), in the form 「莫余毒也已」.


性命交關

ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄇㄧㄥˋ ㄐㄧㄠ ㄍㄨㄢ

синминцзяогуань

/ɕiŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵/

/sɪŋ³³ mɪŋ²² kaːu̯⁵⁵ kʷaːn⁵⁵/

/ɕin⁵⁵ min³³ t͡ɕiɔ³³ kue²¹/

/ɕiŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵/

/sɪŋ³³ mɪŋ²² kaːu̯⁵⁵ kʷaːn⁵⁵/

/ɕin⁵⁵ min³³ t͡ɕiɔ³³ kue²¹/

to be a matter of life and death; of vital importance


性命關天

ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄇㄧㄥˋ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄊㄧㄢ

синмингуаньтянь

/ɕiŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹ ku̯än⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/sɪŋ³³ mɪŋ²² kʷaːn⁵⁵ tʰiːn⁵⁵/

/ɕiŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹ ku̯än⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/sɪŋ³³ mɪŋ²² kʷaːn⁵⁵ tʰiːn⁵⁵/

性命交關 性命交關#Chinese

性命交关 性命交关#Chinese

Synonym of 性命交關／性命交关 (xìngmìngjiāoguān, “to be a matter of life and death; of vital importance”)


人情練達

ㄖㄣˊ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄌㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄚˊ

жэньцинляньда

/ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ li̯ɛn⁵¹ tä³⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ li̯ɛn⁵¹ tä³⁵/

experienced in the ways of the world; worldly-wise


莫余毒也

ㄇㄛˋ ㄩˊ ㄉㄨˊ ㄧㄝˇ

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ y³⁵ tu³⁵ jɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ y³⁵ tu³⁵ jɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

人莫予毒 人莫予毒#Chinese


取之不盡

ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ

цюйчжибуцзинь

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɵy̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɵn²²/

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɵy̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɵn²²/

取之不盡，用之不竭 取之不盡，用之不竭#Chinese

取之不尽，用之不竭 取之不尽，用之不竭#Chinese


來勢洶洶

ㄌㄞˊ ㄕˋ ㄒㄩㄥ ㄒㄩㄥ

/laɪ̯³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵ ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵/

/lɔːi̯²¹ sɐi̯³³ hʊŋ⁵⁵ hʊŋ⁵⁵/

/laɪ̯³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵ ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵/

/lɔːi̯²¹ sɐi̯³³ hʊŋ⁵⁵ hʊŋ⁵⁵/

arriving fiercely; bearing down menacingly; coming with great momentum or intensity


取之無禁，用之不竭

ㄑㄩˇ ㄓ ㄨˊ ㄐㄧㄣˋ

ㄩㄥˋ ㄓ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ

chʻü³ chih¹ wu² chin⁴, yung⁴ chih¹ pu⁴ chieh²

цюй чжи у цзинь

юн чжи бу цзе

/t͡ɕʰy²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ u³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ jʊŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

取之不盡，用之不竭 取之不盡，用之不竭#Chinese

取之不尽，用之不竭 取之不尽，用之不竭#Chinese


死灰復燃

ㄙˇ ㄏㄨㄟ ㄈㄨˋ ㄖㄢˊ

сыхуэйфужань

/sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ fu⁵¹ ʐän³⁵/

/sei̯³⁵ fuːi̯⁵⁵ fʊk̚² jiːn²¹/

/si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻²² hiu²²⁻²¹ liɛn²⁴/

/su⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻²² hiu²²⁻²¹ liɛn²⁴/

/si⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔk̚⁴⁻³² ziɛn²³/

/si⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ he⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔk̚⁴⁻³² ziɛn²³/

/su⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔk̚⁴⁻³² ziɛn²³/

/sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ fu⁵¹ ʐän³⁵/

/sei̯³⁵ fuːi̯⁵⁵ fʊk̚² jiːn²¹/

/si⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻²² hiu²²⁻²¹ liɛn²⁴/

/su⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻²² hiu²²⁻²¹ liɛn²⁴/

/si⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔk̚⁴⁻³² ziɛn²³/

/si⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ he⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔk̚⁴⁻³² ziɛn²³/

/su⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hɔk̚⁴⁻³² ziɛn²³/


年冬月節

/nĩ²⁴⁻²² taŋ³³ ɡə(ʔ)²⁴⁻² t͡sueʔ⁵/

/nĩ²⁴⁻²² taŋ³³ ɡə(ʔ)²⁴⁻² t͡sueʔ⁵/

(Quanzhou Hokkien) on New Year's Day or other festivals


逢年過節

ㄈㄥˊ ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄍㄨㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ

фэнняньгоцзе

/fɤŋ³⁵ ni̯ɛn³⁵ ku̯ɔ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

/fʊŋ²¹ niːn²¹ kʷɔː³³ t͡siːt̚³/

/fɤŋ³⁵ ni̯ɛn³⁵ ku̯ɔ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

/fʊŋ²¹ niːn²¹ kʷɔː³³ t͡siːt̚³/


不平之鳴

ㄅㄨˋ ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄓ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

/pu⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/pɐt̚⁵ pʰɪŋ²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ mɪŋ²¹/

/pu⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/pɐt̚⁵ pʰɪŋ²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ mɪŋ²¹/

不平則鳴 不平則鳴#Chinese

不平则鸣 不平则鸣#Chinese

Alternative form of 不平則鳴／不平则鸣 (bùpíngzémíng)


聊備一格

ㄌㄧㄠˊ ㄅㄟˋ ㄧ ㄍㄜˊ

/li̯ɑʊ̯³⁵ peɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ kɤ³⁵/

/li̯ɑʊ̯³⁵ peɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ kɤ³⁵/


cdn.

ciąg dalszy nastąpi
ciąg dalszy nastąpi#Polish

Abbreviation of ciąg dalszy nastąpi (“to be continued”): TBC


堅甲利兵

ㄐㄧㄢ ㄐㄧㄚˇ ㄌㄧˋ ㄅㄧㄥ

цзяньцзялибин

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ä²¹⁴⁻²¹ li⁵¹ piŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ä²¹⁴⁻²¹ li⁵¹ piŋ⁵⁵/


共聚一堂

ㄍㄨㄥˋ ㄐㄩˋ ㄧ ㄊㄤˊ

/kʊŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕy⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰɑŋ³⁵/

/kʊŋ²² t͡sɵy̯²² jɐt̚⁵ tʰɔːŋ²¹/

/kʊŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕy⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰɑŋ³⁵/

/kʊŋ²² t͡sɵy̯²² jɐt̚⁵ tʰɔːŋ²¹/


詐傻扮懵

/t͡saː³³ sɔː²¹ paːn²² mʊŋ³⁵/

/t͡ʃa²⁴ ʃɔ⁴² pan⁵⁵ mʊŋ²¹/

/t͡saː³³ sɔː²¹ paːn²² mʊŋ³⁵/

/t͡ʃa²⁴ ʃɔ⁴² pan⁵⁵ mʊŋ²¹/

(Cantonese) to play dumb; to feign ignorance


rien de nouveau sous le soleil

Calque of Latin nihil sub sōle novum / nihil novī sub sōle, itself a rough calque of Hebrew אֵין כָּל חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ (“there is nothing new under the sun”).

der

אֵין כָּל חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ

there is nothing new under the sun
there is nothing new under the sun


kinek a pap, kinek a papné

kinek (“for some”) + a (“the”) + pap (“priest”) + kinek (“for some”) + a (“the”) + papné (“wife of the priest”) Ellipsis of kinek a pap, kinek a papné tetszik. Approximately: “some like the priest, others the wife of the priest”.

ellipsis

there's no accounting for taste
there's no accounting for taste#English

different strokes for different folks#English

one man's meat is another man's poison#English

there's no accounting for taste, to each his own, different strokes for different folks, one man's meat is another man's poison

ízlések és pofonok

in full: ízlések és pofonok különbözőek/különböznek


you would think

You would think with the thousands of visitors each day, someone would have found the missing animals by now.

An expression denoting surprise or lack of understanding due to reality being very different from what is the norm or expected.


fr-phrase

/kɑ̃.t‿ɔ̃ paʁ.l(ə) dy lu | ɔ̃.n‿ɑ̃ vwa la kø/

LL-Q150 (fra)-Lepticed7-quand on parle du loup, on en voit la queue.wav

Literally, “when you speak of the wolf, you'll see his tail”.

lit

speak of the devil and he shall appear
speak of the devil and he shall appear

quand on parle du loup on en voit la queue


på edra platser, färdiga, gå

på era platser, färdiga, gå
på era platser, färdiga, gå#Swedish

(sports) Alternative form of på era platser, färdiga, gå.


på era platser, färdiga, gå

on your marks, get set, go
on your mark, get set, go


bói ra ma, quét nhà ra rác

[ʔɓɔj˧˦ zaː˧˧ maː˧˧ kwɛt̚˧˦ ɲaː˨˩ zaː˧˧ zaːk̚˧˦]

[ʔɓɔj˨˩˦ ʐaː˧˧ maː˧˧ kwɛt̚˦˧˥ ɲaː˦˩ ʐaː˧˧ ʐaːk̚˦˧˥]

[ʔɓɔj˦˥ ɹaː˧˧ maː˧˧ wɛt̚˦˥ ɲaː˨˩ ɹaː˧˧ ɹaːk̚˦˥]

(literal) being a medium and getting "possessed" at some point is as predictable as sweeping your home and getting trash

(figurative) don't be gullible and buy into medium, fortune-telling or divination nonsense

self-fulfilling prophecy
self-fulfilling prophecy

(figurative) it's easy to be susceptible to confirmation bias, or to make a self-fulfilling prophecy


coulda fooled me

you could have fooled me
you could have fooled me#English

Alternative form of you could have fooled me


a thousand

Alternative form of one thousand, the number 1000 = 10³.


κἀνταῦθα

head

κᾱ̓νταῦθᾰ • (kāntaûtha)

κᾱ̓νταῦθᾰ (canonical)
kāntaûtha (romanization)

Contraction of καὶ ἐνταῦθᾰ (kaì entaûtha).


哭死哭活

/kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ si⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ uaʔ²⁴/

/kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ si⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ uaʔ²⁴/

(Quanzhou Hokkien) to be full of complaints; to complain to high heaven; to complain bitterly


哭爸哭母

/kʰau²¹⁻⁴² pe²²⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁴² bu⁴²/

/kʰau²¹⁻⁵³ pe²²⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁵³ bu⁵³/

/kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ pe³³⁻¹¹ kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ bu⁵³/

/kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ pe³³⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ bu⁴¹/

/kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ pe²² kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ bu⁵⁵⁴/

/kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ pe³³⁻²² kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ bu⁵⁵⁴/

/kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ pe³³⁻¹¹ kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ bo⁵³/

/kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ pe³³⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ bɤ⁴¹/

/kʰau²¹³⁻⁵⁵ pe³⁵⁻¹¹ kʰau²¹³⁻⁵⁵ bo⁵²⁻²¹/

/kʰau²¹⁻⁴² pe²²⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁴² bu⁴²/

/kʰau²¹⁻⁵³ pe²²⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁵³ bu⁵³/

/kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ pe³³⁻¹¹ kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ bu⁵³/

/kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ pe³³⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ bu⁴¹/

/kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ pe²² kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ bu⁵⁵⁴/

/kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ pe³³⁻²² kʰau⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ bu⁵⁵⁴/

/kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ pe³³⁻¹¹ kʰau¹¹⁻⁵³ bo⁵³/

/kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ pe³³⁻²¹ kʰau²¹⁻⁴¹ bɤ⁴¹/

/kʰau²¹³⁻⁵⁵ pe³⁵⁻¹¹ kʰau²¹³⁻⁵⁵ bo⁵²⁻²¹/

(Hokkien, Teochew, vulgar) to be full of complaints; to complain to high heaven; to complain bitterly


сретан рођендан

сретан рођендан (Roman spelling sretan rođendan)


¿qué tienen que ver los cojones con comer trigo?

Literally, “What do the bollocks have to do with eating wheat”?

lit

(Spain) what does that have to do with the price of tea in China

qué tienen que ver los cojones para comer trigo

qué tendrán que ver los cojones con comer trigo


τὠυτό

head

τὠυτό • (tōutó)


人畜無害

ㄖㄣˊ ㄔㄨˋ ㄨˊ ㄏㄞˋ

/ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹ u³⁵ xaɪ̯⁵¹/

/ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹ u³⁵ xaɪ̯⁵¹/

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 人畜無害.

obor

(neologism) harmless to both humans and livestock; utterly harmless


biết chết liền

[ʔɓiət̚˧˦ t͡ɕet̚˧˦ liən˨˩]

[ʔɓiək̚˦˧˥ t͡ɕet̚˦˧˥ liəŋ˦˩]

[ʔɓiək̚˦˥ cəːt̚˦˥ liəŋ˨˩]

(literal) if I knew, I'd, like, literally die

(slang, Southern Vietnam) no flippin' idea; how the hell should I know?


A Di Đà Phật

[ʔaː˧˧ zi˧˧ ʔɗaː˨˩ fət̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʔaː˧˧ jɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˦˩ fək̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʔaː˧˧ jɪj˧˧ ʔɗaː˨˩ fək̚˨˩˨]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-A Di Đà Phật.wav

Sino-Vietnamese word from 阿彌陀佛, composed of 阿彌陀 (“Amitābha”) and 佛 (“Buddha”), from Chinese 阿彌陀佛／阿弥陀佛.

der

Chinese 阿彌陀佛／阿弥陀佛

Nam mô A Di Đà Phật
Nam mô A Di Đà Phật#Vietnamese


天兵天將

ㄊㄧㄢ ㄅㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄐㄧㄤˋ

тяньбинтяньцзян

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ piŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ piŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

soldiers and generals of Heaven; army of Heaven


ein Stein fällt auf den Kopf

Literally, “a stone falls on one’s head”.

lit

Unter einer Steilwand kann dir ein Stein auf den Kopf fallen.

Under a cliff, a stone may hit you in the head.

Used other than as an idiom, see the individual lemmas.

Auf diesen langen Autofahrten kann dir doch so leicht was passieren! — Ja, aber es kann mir auch morgen ein Stein auf den Kopf fallen. Soll ich deshalb aufhören zu leben?

Something could easily happen to you during these long car drives! — Yes, but a stone could as well hit me in the head tomorrow. Should that make me stop living?

(idiomatic) Used to refer to the residual risk that is part of life, or a fate one cannot avoid.


默不作聲

ㄇㄛˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄥ

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/

/mɐk̚² pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ sɪŋ⁵⁵/

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/

/mɐk̚² pɐt̚⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ sɪŋ⁵⁵/


當槍使

/tɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/tɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

(colloquial, figurative) to use (someone); to exploit (someone)


no manches

Literally, “don't stain” or “don't ruin”.

¡No manches!

Shut up! Are you kidding? Stop being an idiot!

don't screw around, stop joking, stop being silly


為愛鼓掌

ㄨㄟˋ ㄞˋ ㄍㄨˇ ㄓㄤˇ

вэй ай гучжан

/weɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ˀaɪ̯⁵¹ ku²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Analogy of sex and applause. Compare 啪啪啪 (pāpāpā).

zh-l

啪啪啪 (pāpāpā)

(neologism, slang, euphemistic) to make love; to have sex


ابغ حجك وخف عقيمه

head

اِبْغِ حَجَّكَ وَخَفْ عَقِيمَهُ

اِبْغِ حَجَّكَ وَخَفْ عَقِيمَهُ • (ibḡi ḥajjaka waḵaf ʕaqīmahu)

اِبْغِ حَجَّكَ وَخَفْ عَقِيمَهُ (canonical)
ibḡi ḥajjaka waḵaf ʕaqīmahu (romanization)

(linguistics, mnemonic) A mnemonic phrase to help remember the moon letters: ء (ʔ), ب (b), غ (ḡ), ح (ḥ), ج (j), ك (k), و (w), خ (ḵ), ف (f), ع (ʕ), ق (q) ي (y), م (m), ه (h)


jemandem geht der Arsch auf Grundeis

[ˈjeːmandəm ɡeːt deːɐ̯ ʔaʁʃ aʊ̯f ˈɡʁʊntˌʔaɪ̯s]

De-jemandem geht der Arsch auf Grundeis.ogg


lo que se han de comer los gusanos, que lo disfruten los cristianos

Literally, “let the Christians enjoy what the worms will eat”

lit

used as a tongue in cheek justification for promiscuity or wearing revealing clothes

eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die


vom Regen in die Traufe

Literally, “from the rain into the eaves”, referring to the situation where someone runs from the rain towards a house and is hit by a gush of water running down roof, thereby becoming wetter than they could have become in normal rain.

out of the frying pan, into the fire
out of the frying pan, into the fire

out of the frying pan, into the fire (from a bad situation to a worse one)


what a shame

Used to express regret or disappointment about an unfortunate event or piece of information.


இது என்ன விலை

head

இது என்ன விலை • (itu eṉṉa vilai)

/ɪd̪ʊ ɛnːɐ ʋɪlɐɪ̯/

[ɪd̪ɯ ɛnːɐ ʋɪlɐɪ̯]

how much does it cost
how much does it cost


cinta satu malam

cinta (“love”) + satu (“one”) + malam (“night”), literally “one night's love”, calque of English one-night stand. Coined in the 2009 song Cinta satu malam sang by Melinda.


龍馬精神

ㄌㄨㄥˊ ㄇㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄕㄣˊ

лунмацзиншэнь

/lʊŋ³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂən³⁵/

/lʊŋ²¹ maː¹³ t͡sɪŋ⁵⁵ sɐn²¹/

/leŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ be⁵²⁻³⁵ t͡seŋ³³⁻²³ siŋ⁵⁵/

/lʊŋ³⁵ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂən³⁵/

/lʊŋ²¹ maː¹³ t͡sɪŋ⁵⁵ sɐn²¹/

/leŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ be⁵²⁻³⁵ t͡seŋ³³⁻²³ siŋ⁵⁵/

strong as an ox; remaining vigorous even as one ages


viel hilft viel

Er nimmt seine Schlafmittel nach dem Motto: „Viel hilft viel.“

He takes his sleeping pills true to the maxim: “The more the better.”

the more the better; better too much than too little; more is more


敦品勵學

ㄉㄨㄣ ㄆㄧㄣˇ ㄌㄧˋ ㄒㄩㄝˊ

дуньпиньлисюэ

/tu̯ən⁵⁵ pʰin²¹⁴⁻²¹ li⁵¹ ɕy̯ɛ³⁵/

/tu̯ən⁵⁵ pʰin²¹⁴⁻²¹ li⁵¹ ɕy̯ɛ³⁵/


觸類旁通

ㄔㄨˋ ㄌㄟˋ ㄆㄤˊ ㄊㄨㄥ

/ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹⁻⁵³ leɪ̯⁵¹ pʰɑŋ³⁵ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʊk̚⁵ lɵy̯²² pʰɔːŋ²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹⁻⁵³ leɪ̯⁵¹ pʰɑŋ³⁵ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/

/t͡sʊk̚⁵ lɵy̯²² pʰɔːŋ²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵/


樹大招風

ㄕㄨˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄓㄠ ㄈㄥ

/ʂu⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/syː²² taːi̯²² t͡siːu̯⁵⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

/ʂu⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯⁵⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/syː²² taːi̯²² t͡siːu̯⁵⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵/


三十六計逃げるに如かず

ja-phrase

^さんじゅうろっけい にげる に しかず

三(さん)十(じゅう)六(ろっ)計(けい)逃(に)げるに如(し)かず • (Sanjūrokkei nigeru ni shikazu)

三十六計逃げるに如かず (canonical)
Sanjūrokkei nigeru ni shikazu (romanization)

Partial calque of Literary Chinese 檀公三十六策，走是上計. Compare Chinese 三十六計，走為上計／三十六计，走为上计 (sānshíliùjì, zǒuwéishàngjì), Vietnamese tẩu vi thượng sách.
The back-formation of this form in pseudo-kanbun would be 三十六計不如逃.

partial calque

さんじゅうろっけいにげるにしかず

cog

among the Thirty-Six Stratagems, nothing beats fleeing


短小精悍

ㄉㄨㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄏㄢˋ

дуаньсяо цзинхань

/tu̯än²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ xän⁵¹/

/tyːn³⁵ siːu̯³⁵ t͡sɪŋ⁵⁵ hɔːn²²/

/tyːn³⁵ siːu̯³⁵ t͡sɪŋ⁵⁵ hɔːn²²/

not imposing but strong and capable (of a man)

short and pithy; terse and forceful (of a piece of writing)


o todos coludos, o todos rabones

Literally, “either everybody long tailed, or everybody without tail”.

lit

everyone should receive the same or be held by the same standard


alle Stricke reißen

Wenn alle Stricke reißen, dann...

Sollten alle Stricke reißen, dann...

Wenn das geschieht, reißen alle Stricke.

If that happens, all hell will break loose.

worst comes to worst
worst comes to worst

worst comes to worst; the worst case scenario manifests itself


o follamos todos, o la puta al río

/o foˌʝamos ˌtodos | o la ˌputa al ˈrio/

[o foˌʝa.mos ˌt̪o.ð̞os | o la ˌpu.t̪a al ˈri.o]

rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Philippines

/o foˌʎamos ˌtodos | o la ˌputa al ˈrio/

[o foˌʎa.mos ˌt̪o.ð̞os | o la ˌpu.t̪a al ˈri.o]

/o foˌʃamos ˌtodos | o la ˌputa al ˈrio/

[o foˌʃa.mos ˌt̪o.ð̞os | o la ˌpu.t̪a al ˈri.o]

/o foˌʒamos ˌtodos | o la ˌputa al ˈrio/

[o foˌʒa.mos ˌt̪o.ð̞os | o la ˌpu.t̪a al ˈri.o]

Literally, “either we all fuck, or we throw the whore into the river”.


抬頭不見低頭見

ㄊㄞˊ ㄊㄡˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄉㄧ ㄊㄡˊ ㄐㄧㄢˋ

táitóu bùjiàn dītóu jiàn [Phonetic:táitóu bújiàn dītóu jiàn]

тайтоу буцзянь дитоу цзянь

/tʰaɪ̯³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ ti⁵⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/


乳母日傘

乳母日傘 (canonical)
onbahigasa (romanization)
乳母日傘 (canonical)
onbahikarakasa (romanization)

having been indulged and spoiled since childhood


ambot sa imong lubot

Literally, “I don't know about your butt”.

I don't know; a reason and common excuse used to state that a person is unclear of why something did or did not happen, or is or is not the case


amíg világ a világ

amíg (“as long as”) + világ (“world”) + a (“the”) + világ (“world”), literally: "as long as the world is world"

affix

until the end of the world
until the end of the world

till the end of time
till the end of time

until the sky falls down
until the sky falls down

(idiomatic) until the end of the world, till the end of time, until the sky falls down (forever)


目染耳濡

ㄇㄨˋ ㄖㄢˇ ㄦˇ ㄖㄨˊ

/mu⁵¹ ʐän²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐu³⁵/

/mu⁵¹ ʐän²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐu³⁵/

to be influenced by the surrounding environment


星羅棋布

scattered about like stars in the sky or chess pieces on a board

ㄒㄧㄥ ㄌㄨㄛˊ ㄑㄧˊ ㄅㄨˋ

/ɕiŋ⁵⁵ lu̯ɔ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ pu⁵¹/

/sɪŋ⁵⁵ lɔː²¹ kʰei̯²¹ pou̯³³/

/t͡sʰẽ³³⁻²³ lo⁵⁵⁻¹¹ ki⁵⁵⁻¹¹ pu²¹³/

/ɕiŋ⁵⁵ lu̯ɔ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ pu⁵¹/

/sɪŋ⁵⁵ lɔː²¹ kʰei̯²¹ pou̯³³/

/t͡sʰẽ³³⁻²³ lo⁵⁵⁻¹¹ ki⁵⁵⁻¹¹ pu²¹³/

to be spread all over the place; to be dotted with


耳濡目染

ㄦˇ ㄖㄨˊ ㄇㄨˋ ㄖㄢˇ

/ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐu³⁵ mu⁵¹ ʐän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jiː¹³ jyː²¹ mʊk̚² jiːm¹³/

/nĩ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ lu²⁴⁻²² bɔk̚⁴⁻³² liam⁵³/

/nĩ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ zu²³⁻³³ bak̚⁴⁻³² ziam⁴¹/

/ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐu³⁵ mu⁵¹ ʐän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jiː¹³ jyː²¹ mʊk̚² jiːm¹³/

/nĩ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ lu²⁴⁻²² bɔk̚⁴⁻³² liam⁵³/

/nĩ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ zu²³⁻³³ bak̚⁴⁻³² ziam⁴¹/


浅茅生の

ja-pos

浅(あさ)茅(じ)生(う)の or 浅茅生(あさじふ)の • (asajiu no or asajifu no) ^(←あさぢふの (asadifuno)?)

浅茅生の (canonical)
浅茅生の (canonical)
asajiu no (romanization)
asajifu no (romanization)
asadifuno (romanization)
あさぢふの (hiragana historical)

From 浅茅生 (asajiu, asajifu, “place where cogon grass is grown”).

first-person singular
first-person singular

allusion to 小野 (wono → ono, “field, plain”) and 己 (ono, first-person singular pronoun)


親朋戚友

/t͡sʰɐn⁵⁵ pʰɐŋ²¹ t͡sʰɪk̚⁵ jɐu̯¹³/

/t͡sʰɐn⁵⁵ pʰɐŋ²¹ t͡sʰɪk̚⁵ jɐu̯¹³/

Rearranged from 親戚／亲戚 (can¹ cik¹) + 朋友 (pang⁴ jau⁵).

(Cantonese) friends and relatives; kith and kin


je dis ça, je dis rien

J’allais entamer un joli trou juste dans le siège, pour enfin atteindre mon os, mais « on » m’a dit que je ne devais pas creuser (et dans mon pays, « on » est un con, mais je dis ça je dis rien).

2007, Sophie Bienvenu, Lucie le chien, Hamac-Carnet, page 47:

I was going to start a nice hole right in the seat so that I could get my bone, but "someone" told me that I shouldn't dig (and if you ask me, "someone" is a jerk, I'm just saying).

(colloquial, often ironic, sarcastic) Indicates that one does not want to impose one's opinion; just saying


ngl

(Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative letter-case form of NGL.


觸手可及

ㄔㄨˋ ㄕㄡˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄐㄧˊ

/ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/

/t͡sʊk̚⁵ sɐu̯³⁵ hɔː³⁵ kʰɐp̚²/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵¹ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi³⁵/

/t͡sʊk̚⁵ sɐu̯³⁵ hɔː³⁵ kʰɐp̚²/


head

old enough to bleed, old enough to breed

(derogatory, vulgar) Any girl who has started menstruating is old enough to have sex or start having children.


東奔西跑

ㄉㄨㄥ ㄅㄣ ㄒㄧ ㄆㄠˇ

дунбэньсипао

/tʊŋ⁵⁵ pən⁵⁵ ɕi⁵⁵ pʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/tʊŋ⁵⁵ pɐn⁵⁵ sɐi̯⁵⁵ pʰaːu̯³⁵/

/tʊŋ⁵⁵ pən⁵⁵ ɕi⁵⁵ pʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/tʊŋ⁵⁵ pɐn⁵⁵ sɐi̯⁵⁵ pʰaːu̯³⁵/

to run this way and that; to rush about busily; to rush around


什麼風把你吹來了

ㄕㄣˊ ˙ㄇㄜ ㄈㄥ ㄅㄚˇ ㄋㄧˇ ㄔㄨㄟ ㄌㄞˊ ˙ㄌㄜ

shénme fēng bǎ nǐ chuī lái le [Phonetic:shénmefēngbánǐchuīláile]

шэньмэ фэн ба ни чуй лай лэ

/ʂən³⁵ mə³ fɤŋ⁵⁵ pä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ni²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ laɪ̯³⁵ lə³/


羞花閉月

ㄒㄧㄡ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄅㄧˋ ㄩㄝˋ

/ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵⁵ pi⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɥɛ⁵¹/

/ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵⁵ pi⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɥɛ⁵¹/

Refers to two of the Four Beauties of Chinese legends, Yang Guifei (whose appearance made flowers hide away in shame) and Diao Chan (whose appearance had the same effect on the moon).

(of women) extremely beautiful; drop dead gorgeous


蚍蜉撼大樹

ㄆㄧˊ ㄈㄨˊ ㄏㄢˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄕㄨˋ

пифуханьдашу

/pʰi³⁵ fu³⁵ xän⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂu⁵¹/

/pʰei̯²¹ fɐu̯²¹ hɐm²² taːi̯²² syː²²/

/pʰi³⁵ fu³⁵ xän⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂu⁵¹/

/pʰei̯²¹ fɐu̯²¹ hɐm²² taːi̯²² syː²²/

蚍蜉撼樹 蚍蜉撼樹#Chinese

蚍蜉撼树 蚍蜉撼树#Chinese


蚍蜉撼樹

ㄆㄧˊ ㄈㄨˊ ㄏㄢˋ ㄕㄨˋ

/pʰi³⁵ fu³⁵ xän⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂu⁵¹/

/pʰei̯²¹ fɐu̯²¹ hɐm²² syː²²/

/pʰi³⁵ fu³⁵ xän⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂu⁵¹/

/pʰei̯²¹ fɐu̯²¹ hɐm²² syː²²/

to ridiculously overrate oneself; to be self-important


無頭無尾

ㄨˊ ㄊㄡˊ ㄨˊ ㄨㄟˇ

/u³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ u³⁵ weɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/mou̯²¹ tʰɐu̯²¹ mou̯²¹ mei̯¹³/

/bo²⁴⁻²² tʰau²⁴⁻²² bo²⁴⁻²² be⁵³/

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ tʰau²⁴⁻²¹ bo²⁴⁻²¹ be⁴²/

/bo²⁴⁻¹¹ tʰau²⁴⁻¹¹ bo²⁴⁻¹¹ be⁵³/

/bɤ²³⁻³³ tʰau²³⁻³³ bɤ²³⁻³³ bue⁴¹/

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ tʰau²⁴⁻²¹ bo²⁴⁻²¹ bue⁴²/

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ tʰau²⁴⁻²¹ bo²⁴⁻²¹ bə⁴²/

/u³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ u³⁵ weɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/mou̯²¹ tʰɐu̯²¹ mou̯²¹ mei̯¹³/

/bo²⁴⁻²² tʰau²⁴⁻²² bo²⁴⁻²² be⁵³/

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ tʰau²⁴⁻²¹ bo²⁴⁻²¹ be⁴²/

/bo²⁴⁻¹¹ tʰau²⁴⁻¹¹ bo²⁴⁻¹¹ be⁵³/

/bɤ²³⁻³³ tʰau²³⁻³³ bɤ²³⁻³³ bue⁴¹/

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ tʰau²⁴⁻²¹ bo²⁴⁻²¹ bue⁴²/

/bo²⁴⁻²¹ tʰau²⁴⁻²¹ bo²⁴⁻²¹ bə⁴²/

(figurative, of a matter) to have no clue of the reason or cause; to be unclear; to be incomprehensible; to be nonsensical

(figurative) to be chaotic; to be messy; to be all over the place; to be ill-composed


望文生義

ㄨㄤˋ ㄨㄣˊ ㄕㄥ ㄧˋ

ванвэньшэнъи

/wɑŋ⁵¹ wən³⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ i⁵¹/

/mɔːŋ²² mɐn²¹ sɐŋ⁵⁵ jiː²²/

/wɑŋ⁵¹ wən³⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ i⁵¹/

/mɔːŋ²² mɐn²¹ sɐŋ⁵⁵ jiː²²/

to interpret a text with superficial explanations; folk etymology


鴨梨山大

ㄧㄚ ㄌㄧˊ ㄕㄢ ㄉㄚˋ

/jä⁵⁵ li³⁵ ʂän⁵⁵ tä⁵¹/

/jä⁵⁵ li³⁵ ʂän⁵⁵ tä⁵¹/

A wordplay of 壓力山大／压力山大 (yālìshāndà), which is in turn a wordplay of 亞歷山大／亚历山大 (Yàlìshāndà).

zh-l

壓力山大／压力山大 (yālìshāndà)

亞歷山大／亚历山大 (Yàlìshāndà)

(slang) to have pressure as big as a mountain


شكرا لك

head

شُكْرًا لَكَ

شُكْرًا لَكَ • (šukran laka)

شُكْرًا لَكَ (canonical)
šukran laka (romanization)


شكرا لك

شُكْرًا لَكِ

شُكْرًا لَكِ • (šukran laki)

شُكْرًا لَكِ (canonical)
šukran laki (romanization)


น่าเสียดาย

th-phrase

น่าเสียดาย • (nâa-sǐia-daai)


儂好𠲎

儂好𠲎？我蠻好。

侬好𠲎？我蛮好。


你好冇

/ŋi¹¹ ho³¹ mo¹¹/

/ŋi¹¹ ho³¹ mo¹¹/

/ŋ̍¹¹ ho³¹ mo¹¹/

/ŋi¹¹ ho³¹ mo¹¹/

/ŋi¹¹ ho³¹ mo¹¹/

/ŋ̍¹¹ ho³¹ mo¹¹/


bir varmış, bir yokmuş

Literally, “a something that existed, a something that did not exist”.

lit

Bir varmış, bir yokmuş, bir zamanlar bir padişah ve bu padişahın altı yedi yaşlarında bir kızı varmış.

Once upon a time, there was once a sultan and this sultan had a six- or seven-year-old daughter.

once upon a time... (traditional opening phrase of a fairy tale)


à tantôt

(Belgium, Canada, informal) see you later (on the same day)


chi prima arriva meglio alloggia

first come, first served
first come, first served


chi ben comincia è a metà dell'opera

Literally, “who starts well is at half of the work”.

lit

well begun is half done
well begun is half done

a good start is half the battle
a good start is half the battle


head

you could cut the atmosphere with a knife

The image is that the atmosphere is thick. Compare French à couper au couteau.

Used to describe a situation with intense anger in the area.


冤家宜解不宜結

ㄩㄢ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄧˊ ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧˊ ㄐㄧㄝˊ

юаньцзя и цзе буи цзе

/ɥɛn⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ i³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ i³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/

/jyːn⁵⁵ kaː⁵⁵ jiː²¹ kaːi̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ jiː²¹ kiːt̚³/

better for foes to be reconciled than to contend with each other


o todos moros o todos cristianos

Literally, “either all moors, or all christians”.

lit

everyone should receive the same or be held by the same standard


賠了夫人又折兵

ㄆㄟˊ ˙ㄌㄜ ㄈㄨ ㄖㄣˊ ㄧㄡˋ ㄓㄜˊ ㄅㄧㄥ

пэй лэ фужэнь ю чжэбин

/pʰeɪ̯³⁵ lə³ fu⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵ joʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤ³⁵ piŋ⁵⁵/

/pʰuːi̯²¹ liːu̯¹³ fuː⁵⁵ jɐn²¹ jɐu̯²² t͡siːt̚³ pɪŋ⁵⁵/

to suffer a double whammy after trying to take advantage of something


trust, but verify

Calque of Russian доверя́й, но проверя́й (doverjáj, no proverjáj). Often attributed to Vladimir Lenin, although no written evidence exists. Popularized in English by Ronald Reagan in the context of nuclear disarmament.

calque

доверя́й, но проверя́й

Before affixing his signature, Reagan also told the Soviet leader — and reassured congressional conservatives worried about Kremlin compliance — that he would follow the Russian adage to "trust, but verify."

1987 December 9, Thom Shanker, “Battle turns gentle with proverbs galore”, in Chicago Tribune:

If I had blindly fulfilled her first request, it would have inconvenienced many other users and wouldn't have solved the problem. Never forget this phrase - “trust, but verify.”

2013, Kelly C Bourne, Application Administrators Handbook: Installing, Updating and Troubleshooting Software, Newnes, →ISBN, page 351:

Trust but verify—plain and simple. Well, mostly just verify, as the objective record removes the vulnerability of getting cheated.

2014, David DeSteno, The Truth About Trust: How It Determines Success in Life, Love, Learning, and More, Penguin, →ISBN, page 97:

One should have general faith in the benevolent intentions of others, but ultimately one can only rely on things that have been verified.


never start a land war in Asia

never fight a land war in Asia
never fight a land war in Asia#English

Synonym of never fight a land war in Asia


do you know the Bishop of Norwich

Traditionally, after a vintage port has been decanted, the decanter is passed clockwise around the table until everyone has poured some. If the decanter should stall en route, it is considered poor etiquette to ask for it directly, so one must request it in a roundabout way:
:— Do you know the Bishop of Norwich?
:— No.
:— He's a terribly good chap, but he always forgets to pass the port.

(UK, wine) Can you pass the port, please?


my kingdom for a horse

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-my kingdom for a horse.wav

From William Shakespeare's Richard III (written c. 1593; published 1597), Act V, scene iv (spelling modernized): "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse."

nb...

Containing, His Treacherous Plots against His Brother Clarence: The Pittiefull Murther of His Iunocent 􂀿sic􂁀 Nephewes: His Tyrannicall Vsurpation: With the Whole Course of His Detested Life, and Most Deserued Death. As it hath beene Lately Acted by the Right Honourable the Lord Chamberlaine His Seruants.

dwelling in Paules Chuch-yard 􂀿sic􂁀, at the signe of the Angell.

The speaker is willing to sacrifice anything to obtain a seemingly unimportant item that is invaluable at a critical moment.

mit kongerige for en hest

willingness to sacrifice anything for something previously unimportant

sell one's birthright for a mess of pottage


文質彬彬

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (文質彬彬):
* → Japanese: 文質彬彬(ぶんしつひんぴん) (bunshitsu hinpin)
* → Korean: 문질빈빈(文質彬彬) (munjilbinbin)

ㄨㄣˊ ㄓˋ ㄅㄧㄣ ㄅㄧㄣ

ㄨㄣˊ ㄓˊ ㄅㄧㄣ ㄅㄧㄣ

вэньчжибиньбинь

/wən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹ pin⁵⁵ pin⁵⁵/

/wən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ pin⁵⁵ pin⁵⁵/

/mɐn²¹ t͡sɐt̚⁵ pɐn⁵⁵ pɐn⁵⁵/

/wən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹ pin⁵⁵ pin⁵⁵/

/wən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ pin⁵⁵ pin⁵⁵/

/mɐn²¹ t͡sɐt̚⁵ pɐn⁵⁵ pɐn⁵⁵/

The Master said, "Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue."

The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐyuē: “Zhì shèng wén zé yě, wén shèng zhì zé shǐ. Wén zhì bīnbīn, ránhòu jūnzǐ.”

子曰：「質勝文則野，文勝質則史。文質彬彬，然後君子。」

子曰：「质胜文则野，文胜质则史。文质彬彬，然后君子。」

(literary, originally) well balanced between literary talent and simplicity; displaying literary talent yet not frivolous


文質彬彬

ja-pos

文(ぶん)質(しつ)彬(ひん)彬(ぴん) • (bunshitsu hinpin)

文質彬彬 (canonical)
bunshitsu hinpin (romanization)

[bɯ̟̃ɰ̃ɕit͡sɨ çĩmpʲĩɴ]

From the Analects of Confucius.
Analyzable as 文質 (bunshitsu, “civilized sophistication and simplicity”) + 彬彬 (hinpin, “harmonized, well-proportioned, well-balanced”).

the outer beauty and the inner quality are well-harmonized


形左實右

ㄒㄧㄥˊ ㄗㄨㄛˇ ㄕˊ ㄧㄡˋ

/ɕiŋ³⁵ t͡su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ joʊ̯⁵¹/

/ɕiŋ³⁵ t͡su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ joʊ̯⁵¹/

From Bombard the Headquarters, a big-character poster written by Mao Zedong shortly after the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966.
(Note: some editions did not have the "而".)

Viewed in connection with the Right deviation in 1962 and the wrong tendency of 1964 which was ‘Left’ in form but Right in essence, shouldn’t this make one wide awake?

1966, Mao Zedong, Bombard The Headquarters – My Big-Character Poster

Liánxì dào yījiǔliù'èr nián de yòuqīng hé yījiǔliùsì nián xíng “zuǒ” ér shí yòu de cuòwù qīngxiàng, qǐ bùshì kěyǐ fārénshēnxǐng de ma?

聯繫到一九六二年的右傾和一九六四年形「左」[[#Chinese|]]而實右的錯誤傾向，豈不是可以發人深醒的嗎？

联系到一九六二年的右倾和一九六四年形「左」[[#Chinese|]]而实右的错误倾向，岂不是可以发人深醒的吗？

(politics) left in form but right in essence

Bombard the Headquarters
Cultural Revolution
Mao Zedong


WHP

(mathematics, computer science) Initialism of with high probability.


до завтра

head

до за́втра • (do závtra)

до за́втра (canonical)
do závtra (romanization)


啥價鈿

(Wu) how much money?, how much is it?, how much does it cost?


幾多銀

/kei̯³⁵ tɔː⁵⁵ ŋɐn²¹/

/kei̯³⁵ tɔː⁵⁵ ŋɐn²¹⁻³⁵/

/kei̯³⁵ tɔː⁵⁵ ŋɐn²¹/

/kei̯³⁵ tɔː⁵⁵ ŋɐn²¹⁻³⁵/

(Cantonese) how much money?, how much is it?, how much does it cost?


wohl eher

Die Burg wurde mit Katarakten beschossen. — Katapulten, wohl eher.

The castle was shelled with cataracts. — Catapults, more like.

Er ist ein bisschen angeschickert. — Sternhagelvoll, wohl eher.

He’s a bit tipsy. — Totally wasted, more like.

more like; used to change or correct someone’s choice of words

vielmehr

used to change one's own choice of words


多少鈔票

/tu⁵⁵ sɔ³³ t͡sʰɔ³³ pʰiɔ⁴⁴/

/tu⁵⁵ sɔ³³ t͡sʰɔ³³ pʰiɔ⁴⁴/

(Wu, Huizhou) how much money?, how much is it?, how much does it cost?


幾錢

/t͡ɕi¹¹ t͡sʰiẽ²⁴/

/kei̯³⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹⁻³⁵/

/t͡ɕi¹¹ t͡sʰiẽ²⁴/

/kei̯³⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹⁻³⁵/

Excuse me boss, how much does pork cost per catty?

si⁶ tau⁴⁻², ceng² man⁶ zyu¹ juk⁶ gei² cin⁴⁻² gan¹ aa³?

事頭，請問豬肉幾錢斤呀？

事头，请问猪肉几钱斤呀？

(Nanjing Mandarin, Cantonese) how much money?, how much is it?, how much does it cost?


吃力不討好

ㄔ ㄌㄧˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄊㄠˇ ㄏㄠˇ

chīlì bù tǎohǎo [Phonetic:chīlìbùtáohǎo]

чили бу таохао

/ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ li⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ tʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/hɛːk̚³ lɪk̚² pɐt̚⁵ tʰou̯³⁵ hou̯³⁵/

/hɛːk̚³ lɪk̚² pɐt̚⁵ tʰou̯³⁵ hou̯³⁵/

(idiomatic, of a task, etc.) arduous and thankless; strenuous and unrewarding


wie isses

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling


l'appétit vient en mangeant

l’ appétit vient en mangeant (canonical)

desc

→ German: der Appetit kommt beim Essen (calque)

→ Polish: apetyt rośnie w miarę jedzenia (calque)

First used by François Rabelais in Gargantua and Pantagruel, chapter V.

appetite comes with eating
appetite comes with eating

François Rabelais
Gargantua and Pantagruel


wie ist es

Literally, “how is it?” (compare Dutch hoe is het).

Na? Wie ist es?

(colloquial, somewhat regional, especially western Germany) how are you?; how are things going?


繼晷焚膏

ㄐㄧˋ ㄍㄨㄟˇ ㄈㄣˊ ㄍㄠ

цзигуйфэньгао

/t͡ɕi⁵¹ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ fən³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi⁵¹ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ fən³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

焚膏繼晷 焚膏繼晷#Chinese

焚膏继晷 焚膏继晷#Chinese

burn the midnight oil
burn the midnight oil

Synonym of 焚膏繼晷／焚膏继晷 (féngāojìguǐ, “to burn the midnight oil”)


燃膏繼晷

ㄖㄢˊ ㄍㄠ ㄐㄧˋ ㄍㄨㄟˇ

жаньгаоцзигуй

/ʐän³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/ʐän³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

焚膏繼晷 焚膏繼晷#Chinese

焚膏继晷 焚膏继晷#Chinese


焚膏繼晷

ㄈㄣˊ ㄍㄠ ㄐㄧˋ ㄍㄨㄟˇ

фэньгаоцзигуй

/fən³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/fɐn²¹ kou̯⁵⁵ kɐi̯³³ kʷɐi̯³⁵/

/fən³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/fɐn²¹ kou̯⁵⁵ kɐi̯³³ kʷɐi̯³⁵/

You burn the oil to lengthen the day, and you keep working hard the whole year long.

Fén gāoyóu yǐ jì guǐ, héng wùwù yǐ qióng nián.

焚膏油以繼晷，恆兀兀以窮年。

焚膏油以继晷，恒兀兀以穷年。

to burn oil (candle) to lengthen the day


盡興而歸

ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄦˊ ㄍㄨㄟ

цзиньсинъэргуй

/t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕiŋ⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ku̯eɪ̯⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕiŋ⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ku̯eɪ̯⁵⁵/

to return after thoroughly enjoying oneself


暗無天日

ㄢˋ ㄨˊ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄖˋ

/ˀän⁵¹ u³⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʐ̩⁵¹/

/ɐm³³ mou̯²¹ tʰiːn⁵⁵ jɐt̚²/

/ˀän⁵¹ u³⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʐ̩⁵¹/

/ɐm³³ mou̯²¹ tʰiːn⁵⁵ jɐt̚²/

The old society was an abyss of darkness.

舊社會暗無天日。

旧社会暗无天日。


按需分配

ㄢˋ ㄒㄩ ㄈㄣ ㄆㄟˋ

аньсюйфэньпэй

/ˀän⁵¹ ɕy⁵⁵ fən⁵⁵ pʰeɪ̯⁵¹/

/ɔːn³³ sɵy̯⁵⁵ fɐn⁵⁵ pʰuːi̯³³/

/ˀän⁵¹ ɕy⁵⁵ fən⁵⁵ pʰeɪ̯⁵¹/

/ɔːn³³ sɵy̯⁵⁵ fɐn⁵⁵ pʰuːi̯³³/

from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs

各盡所能，按需分配

各尽所能，按需分配

distribution according to need
distribution according to need

distribution according to need (principle of distribution in a communist society)


باسم الله

head

بِٱسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ

بِٱسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ • (bi-smi llāh)

بِٱسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ (canonical)
bi-smi llāh (romanization)

→ Bashkir: бисмилла (bismilla)

desc

بِسْمِ اللّٰه

→ Classical Persian: بِسْمِ اللّٰه (bismi l-lāh)

بِسْمِ اللّٰه

Iranian Persian: بِسْمِ اللّٰه (besme l-lâh)

Tajik: бисмиллоҳ (bismilloh)

→ Bengali: বিসমিল্লাহ (biśomillah)

→ Hindustani:

Hindi: बिस्मिल्लाह (bismillāh)

Urdu: بسم الله (bismi llāh)

→ Kazakh: бісмілдә (bısmıldä)

→ Mandinka: Bisimilaay

→ Malay: sembelih (by metathesis)


盡心盡力

ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄌㄧˋ

цзиньсиньцзиньли

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ li⁵¹/

/t͡sɵn²² sɐm⁵⁵ t͡sɵn²² lɪk̚²/

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹⁻⁵³ li⁵¹/

/t͡sɵn²² sɐm⁵⁵ t͡sɵn²² lɪk̚²/

to spare no effort; to try one's best; to do one's utmost


按捺不住

ㄢˋ ㄋㄚˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄨˋ

/ˀän⁵¹⁻⁵³ nä⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂu⁵¹/

/ɔːn³³ naːt̚² pɐt̚⁵ t͡syː²²/

/ˀän⁵¹⁻⁵³ nä⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂu⁵¹/

/ɔːn³³ naːt̚² pɐt̚⁵ t͡syː²²/

to be unable to hold back one's excitement

按捺不住激動的心情

按捺不住激动的心情

unable to control oneself; unable to contain one's feelings


盡人皆知

ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄐㄧㄝ ㄓ

цзиньжэньцзечжи

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

/t͡sɵn²² jɐn²¹ kaːi̯⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

/t͡sɵn²² jɐn²¹ kaːi̯⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵/

to be known to all; to be common knowledge


按下葫蘆浮起瓢

hardly has one gourd been pushed under water when another bobs up

ㄢˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄏㄨˊ ˙ㄌㄨ ㄈㄨˊ ㄑㄧˇ ㄆㄧㄠˊ

ань ся хулу фу ци пяо

/ˀän⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕi̯ä⁵¹ xu³⁵ lu³ fu³⁵ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ pʰi̯ɑʊ̯³⁵/

/ɔːn³³ haː²² wuː²¹ lou̯²¹ fɐu̯²¹ hei̯³⁵ pʰiːu̯²¹/

to solve one problem only to find another cropping up


蚤朝晏退

ㄗㄠˇ ㄔㄠˊ ㄧㄢˋ ㄊㄨㄟˋ

цзаочаояньтуй

/t͡sɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɑʊ̯³⁵ jɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰu̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

When the virtuous rules the country, he goes to court early and retires late, hearing lawsuits and attending to the government. As a result, the country is well governed and laws are justly administered.

Mozi, c. 4ᵗʰ century BCE, translated based on Y. P. Mei's version

Xiánzhě zhī zhìguózhě yě, zǎocháoyàntuì, tīngyù zhìzhèng, shì yǐ guójiā zhì ér xíngfǎ zhèng.

賢者之治國者也，蚤朝晏退，聽獄治政，是以國家治而刑法正。

贤者之治国者也，蚤朝晏退，听狱治政，是以国家治而刑法正。

to go to court early and retire late; to be diligent in governmental affairs


蚤朝晏罷

ㄗㄠˇ ㄔㄠˊ ㄧㄢˋ ㄅㄚˋ

цзаочаояньба

/t͡sɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɑʊ̯³⁵ jɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ pä⁵¹/

/t͡sɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɑʊ̯³⁵ jɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ pä⁵¹/

Moreover, the Lord goes to court early and retires late, diligent in governmental affairs, isn't it for the sake of Wu?

Qiěfú jūnwáng zǎo cháo yàn bà, fēi wèi wú yé?

且夫君王蚤朝晏罷，非為吳邪？

且夫君王蚤朝晏罢，非为吴邪？


步步緊逼

ㄅㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄅㄧ

/pu⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ pi⁵⁵/

/pu⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ pi⁵⁵/


謹言慎行

ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄧㄢˊ ㄕㄣˋ ㄒㄧㄥˊ

цзиньяньшэньсин

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɛn³⁵ ʂən⁵¹ ɕiŋ³⁵/

/kɐn³⁵ jiːn²¹ sɐn²² hɐŋ²¹/

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɛn³⁵ ʂən⁵¹ ɕiŋ³⁵/

/kɐn³⁵ jiːn²¹ sɐn²² hɐŋ²¹/

to speak and act cautiously; to be discreet in word and deed


按倒葫蘆瓢起來

ㄢˋ ㄉㄠˇ ㄏㄨˊ ˙ㄌㄨ ㄆㄧㄠˊ ㄑㄧˇ ㄌㄞˊ

ㄢˋ ㄉㄠˇ ㄏㄨˊ ˙ㄌㄨ ㄆㄧㄠˊ ㄑㄧˇ ˙ㄌㄞ

ань дао хулу пяо цилай

/ˀän⁵¹ tɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu³⁵ lu³ pʰi̯ɑʊ̯³⁵ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ laɪ̯³⁵/

/ˀän⁵¹ tɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu³⁵ lu³ pʰi̯ɑʊ̯³⁵ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴ laɪ̯⁴/

按下葫蘆浮起瓢 按下葫蘆浮起瓢#Chinese

按下葫芦浮起瓢 按下葫芦浮起瓢#Chinese

Synonym of 按下葫蘆浮起瓢／按下葫芦浮起瓢 (àn xià húlu fú qǐ piáo, “to solve one problem only to find another cropping up”)


前程似錦

ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄔㄥˊ ㄙˋ ㄐㄧㄣˇ

цяньчэнсыцзинь

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ sz̩⁵¹ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/t͡sʰiːn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ t͡sʰiː¹³ kɐm³⁵/

/t͡sʰiːn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ t͡sʰiː¹³ kɐm³⁵/

to have splendid prospects; to have an infinitely bright future


錦繡前程

ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄡˋ ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄔㄥˊ

цзиньсюцяньчэн

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ t͡sʰiːn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ t͡sʰiːn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹/


錦片前程

ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄆㄧㄢˋ ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄔㄥˊ

цзиньпяньцяньчэн

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ pʰi̯ɛn⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

錦繡前程 錦繡前程#Chinese

锦绣前程 锦绣前程#Chinese

Synonym of 錦繡前程／锦绣前程 (jǐnxiùqiánchéng, “splendid prospects; glorious future”)


錦繡河山

ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄡˋ ㄏㄜˊ ㄕㄢ

цзиньсюхэшань

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ xɤ³⁵ ʂän⁵⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ hɔː²¹ saːn⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ xɤ³⁵ ʂän⁵⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ hɔː²¹ saːn⁵⁵/

land of charm and beauty; beautiful land


錦繡江山

ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄡˋ ㄐㄧㄤ ㄕㄢ

цзиньсюцзяншань

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʂän⁵⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ kɔːŋ⁵⁵ saːn⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʂän⁵⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ kɔːŋ⁵⁵ saːn⁵⁵/


十年唔逢一閏

/sɐp̚² niːn²¹ m̩²¹ fʊŋ²¹ jɐt̚⁵ jɵn²²/

/sɐp̚² niːn²¹ m̩²¹ fʊŋ²¹ jɐt̚⁵ jɵn²²/


聽天委命

ㄊㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄟˇ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄟˇ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

тинтяньвэймин

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ weɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ weɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ weɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ weɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ miŋ⁵¹/

聽天由命 聽天由命#Chinese

听天由命 听天由命#Chinese

Synonym of 聽天由命／听天由命 (tīngtiānyóumìng, “to resign oneself to fate; to be reconciled to one's lot”)


聽天安命

ㄊㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

тинтяньаньмин

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ˀän⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ˀän⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰɪŋ³³ tʰiːn⁵⁵ ɔːn⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ˀän⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ˀän⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰɪŋ³³ tʰiːn⁵⁵ ɔːn⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/

聽天由命 聽天由命#Chinese

听天由命 听天由命#Chinese


千載難逢

ㄑㄧㄢ ㄗㄞˇ ㄋㄢˊ ㄈㄥˊ

цяньцзайнаньфэн

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡saɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ nän³⁵ fɤŋ³⁵/

/t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡sɔːi̯³⁵ naːn²¹ fʊŋ²¹/

/t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡saɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ nän³⁵ fɤŋ³⁵/

/t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ t͡sɔːi̯³⁵ naːn²¹ fʊŋ²¹/

once in a blue moon; not occurring once in a thousand years


寓意深遠

ㄩˋ ㄧˋ ㄕㄣ ㄩㄢˇ

юйи шэньюань

/y⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ ɥɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jyː²² jiː³³ sɐm⁵⁵ jyːn¹³/

/y⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ ɥɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jyː²² jiː³³ sɐm⁵⁵ jyːn¹³/


一切就緒

ㄧ ㄑㄧㄝˋ ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄒㄩˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕy⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰɐi̯³³ t͡sɐu̯²² sɵy̯¹³/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰɐi̯³³ t͡sɐu̯²² sɵy̯¹³/


盡人事，聽天命

人事を尽くして天命を待つ

→ Japanese: 人事を尽くして天命を待つ (jinji o tsukushite tenmei o matsu) (partial calque)

ㄊㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

цзинь жэньши

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/t͡sɵn²² jɐn²¹ siː²² tʰɪŋ³³ tʰiːn⁵⁵ mɪŋ²²/

From Flowers in the Mirror (鏡花緣) by 李汝珍 (Li Ruzhen)

Xuannü said: "Haven't you heard that 'lack of forbearance in small matters upsets great plans'? And there is also an idiom saying 'man proposes, God disposes'. But you neither forbear, nor propose. That being so, how can you say that's what God disposes?"

Yuánnǚ dào: “Xiāngū qǐ bù wén ‘xiǎobùrěnzéluàndàmóu’? Yòu yàn yún: ‘Jìn rénshì yǐ tīng tiānmìng.’ Jīn xiāngū jì bùnéng rěn, yòu rénshì wèi jìn, yǐzhì rúcǐ, hé néng yán dé tiānmìng?”

元女道：「仙姑豈不聞『小不忍則亂大謀』？又諺云：『盡人事以聽天命。』今仙姑既不能忍，又人事未盡，以致如此，何能言得天命？」

元女道：「仙姑岂不闻『小不忍则乱大谋』？又谚云：『尽人事以听天命。』今仙姑既不能忍，又人事未尽，以致如此，何能言得天命？」

man proposes, God disposes
man proposes, God disposes

to do one's level best and leave the rest to God's will; man proposes, God disposes


錦繡山河

ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄡˋ ㄕㄢ ㄏㄜˊ

цзиньсюшаньхэ

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ ʂän⁵⁵ xɤ³⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ saːn⁵⁵ hɔː²¹/

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ ʂän⁵⁵ xɤ³⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sɐu̯³³ saːn⁵⁵ hɔː²¹/


盡人力，聽天命

ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄌㄧˋ

ㄊㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

цзинь жэньли

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ li⁵¹ tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ li⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

盡人事，聽天命 盡人事，聽天命#Chinese

尽人事，听天命 尽人事，听天命#Chinese

Synonym of 盡人事，聽天命／尽人事，听天命 (jìn rénshì, tīng tiānmìng, “to do one's level best and leave the rest to God's will”)


聽憑尊便

ㄊㄧㄥ ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄗㄨㄣ ㄅㄧㄢˋ

ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄗㄨㄣ ㄅㄧㄢˋ

тинпинцзуньбянь

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ pʰiŋ³⁵ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ pʰiŋ³⁵ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ pʰiŋ³⁵ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

according to your preference; it's up to you; do as you like; have it your way


聽天任命

ㄊㄧㄥ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄖㄣˋ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄖㄣˋ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

тинтяньжэньмин

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʐən⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʐən⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʐən⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʐən⁵¹⁻⁵³ miŋ⁵¹/

聽天由命 聽天由命#Chinese

听天由命 听天由命#Chinese


悉聽尊便

ㄒㄧ ㄊㄧㄥ ㄗㄨㄣ ㄅㄧㄢˋ

ㄒㄧ ㄊㄧㄥˋ ㄗㄨㄣ ㄅㄧㄢˋ

ситинцзуньбянь

/ɕi⁵⁵ tʰiŋ⁵⁵ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/ɕi⁵⁵ tʰiŋ⁵¹ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/sɪk̚⁵ tʰɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡syːn⁵⁵ piːn²²/

/ɕi⁵⁵ tʰiŋ⁵⁵ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/ɕi⁵⁵ tʰiŋ⁵¹ t͡su̯ən⁵⁵ pi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/sɪk̚⁵ tʰɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡syːn⁵⁵ piːn²²/


so help you God

Roberts: So help you God? / Obama: So help me God.

2009 January 20, Barack Obama taking the oath of office⁽ᵛⁱᵈᵉᵒ⁾, John Roberts (actor):

Used when administering an oath, after which the taker is expected to reply "so help me God."


人情之常

ㄖㄣˊ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄓ ㄔㄤˊ

жэньцинчжичан

/ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵/

人之常情 人之常情#Chinese

Synonym of 人之常情 (rénzhīchángqíng, “human nature; what is natural and normal in human relationships”)


振奮人心

ㄓㄣˋ ㄈㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄣ

чжэньфэньжэньсинь

čžɛnʹfɛnʹžɛnʹsinʹ

/ʈ͡ʂən⁵¹⁻⁵³ fən⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/t͡siŋ⁵²⁻³⁵ huŋ²¹³⁻⁵⁵ naŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ sim³³/

/ʈ͡ʂən⁵¹⁻⁵³ fən⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵/

/t͡siŋ⁵²⁻³⁵ huŋ²¹³⁻⁵⁵ naŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ sim³³/

to boost popular morale; to fill people with enthusiasm


人壽年豐

ㄖㄣˊ ㄕㄡˋ ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄈㄥ

жэньшоуняньфэн

/ʐən³⁵ ʂoʊ̯⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ sɐu̯²² niːn²¹ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ ʂoʊ̯⁵¹ ni̯ɛn³⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ sɐu̯²² niːn²¹ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

the land yields good harvests and the people enjoy good health


不近人情

ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄑㄧㄥˊ

буцзиньжэньцин

/pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵/

/pɐt̚⁵ kɐn²² jɐn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹/

/pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕin⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵/

/pɐt̚⁵ kɐn²² jɐn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹/

I was frightened by them; they were like the Milky Way which cannot be traced to its beginning or end. They had no connexion with one another, and were not akin to the experiences of men.

Wú jīngbù qí yán, yóu héhàn ér wújí yě; dà yǒu jìngtíng, bù jìn rénqíng yān.

吾驚怖其言，猶河漢而無極也；大有徑庭，不近人情焉。

吾惊怖其言，犹河汉而无极也；大有径庭，不近人情焉。

not amenable to reason; inconsiderate of human feelings; unkind; insensitive


人心所向

ㄖㄣˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˋ

жэньсиньсосян

/ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵ sɔː³⁵ hœːŋ³³/

/ʐən³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ sɐm⁵⁵ sɔː³⁵ hœːŋ³³/

Given the general trend of the international and internal situation and the feelings of the people, is it possible, through our own struggles, to localize the civil war or delay the outbreak of a country-wide civil war?

1945, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《抗日戰爭勝利後的時局和我們的方針》 (The Situation and Our Policy After the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan), 《毛澤東選集》 (Selected Works of Mao Zedong). English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Huì bù huì yīnwèi guójì guónèi de dàshìsuǒqū hé rénxīnsuǒxiàng, jīngguò wǒmen de fèndòu, shǐ nèizhàn xiànzhì zài júbù de fànwéi, huòzhě shǐ quánmiàn nèizhàn tuōyán shíjiān bàofā ne?

會不會因為國際國內的大勢所趨和人心所向，經過我們的奮鬥，使內戰限制在局部的範圍，或者使全面內戰拖延時間爆發呢？

会不会因为国际国内的大势所趋和人心所向，经过我们的奋斗，使内战限制在局部的范围，或者使全面内战拖延时间爆发呢？

popular sentiment; common aspiration of the people


人世滄桑

ㄖㄣˊ ㄕˋ ㄘㄤ ㄙㄤ

жэньшицансан

/ʐən³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ t͡sʰɑŋ⁵⁵ sɑŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ sɐi̯³³ t͡sʰɔːŋ⁵⁵ sɔːŋ⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ t͡sʰɑŋ⁵⁵ sɑŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐn²¹ sɐi̯³³ t͡sʰɔːŋ⁵⁵ sɔːŋ⁵⁵/

tremendous changes in the world; vicissitudes of human affairs


錦上添花

ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄕㄤˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄏㄨㄚ

цзиньшантяньхуа

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sœːŋ²² tʰiːm⁵⁵ faː⁵⁵/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰiam³³⁻¹¹ hua⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰiam³³⁻²¹ hua⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ²²⁻²¹ tʰiam²²⁻²¹ hua⁴⁴/

/kim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰiam⁴⁴⁻³³ hua⁴⁴/

/kim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰiam⁴⁴⁻³³ hua⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siaŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siaŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

/t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ sœːŋ²² tʰiːm⁵⁵ faː⁵⁵/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰiam³³⁻¹¹ hua⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰiam³³⁻²¹ hua⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ²²⁻²¹ tʰiam²²⁻²¹ hua⁴⁴/

/kim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰiam⁴⁴⁻³³ hua⁴⁴/

/kim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰiam⁴⁴⁻³³ hua⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ siaŋ³³⁻²¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

/ɡim⁵³⁻⁴⁴ siaŋ³³⁻¹¹ tʰĩ⁴⁴⁻³³ hue⁴⁴/

For them the prime need is not “more flowers on the brocade” but “fuel in snowy weather”.

Duìyú tāmen, dì yī bù xūyào hái bùshì “jǐnshàngtiānhuā”, érshì “xuězhōngsòngtàn”.

對於他們，第一步需要還不是「錦上添花」，而是「雪中送炭」。

对于他们，第一步需要还不是「锦上添花」，而是「雪中送炭」。


人微言輕

ㄖㄣˊ ㄨㄟ ㄧㄢˊ ㄑㄧㄥ

ㄖㄣˊ ㄨㄟˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄑㄧㄥ

жэньвэйяньцин

/ʐən³⁵ weɪ̯⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ jɛn³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ weɪ̯⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ jɛn³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵/

the words of the lowly carry little weight


come mai da queste parti

what brings you here
what brings you here


默而識之

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

/mɐk̚² jiː²¹ sɪk̚⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵/

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

/mɐk̚² jiː²¹ sɪk̚⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵/

The Master said, “The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied - which one of these things belongs to me?”

Zǐ yuē: “Mò ér zhì zhī, xué ér bù yàn, huì rén bù juàn, hé yǒu yú wǒ zāi?”

子曰：「默而識之，學而不厭，誨人不倦，何有於我哉？」

子曰：「默而识之，学而不厌，诲人不倦，何有于我哉？」


人同此心，心同此理

ㄖㄣˊ ㄊㄨㄥˊ ㄘˇ ㄒㄧㄣ

ㄒㄧㄣ ㄊㄨㄥˊ ㄘˇ ㄌㄧˇ

jên² tʻung² tzʻŭ³ hsin¹, hsin¹ tʻung² tzʻŭ³ li³

ren torng tsyy shin, shin torng tsyy lii

жэнь тун цы синь

синь тун цы ли

/ʐən³⁵ tʰʊŋ³⁵ t͡sʰz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕin⁵⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ tʰʊŋ³⁵ t͡sʰz̩²¹⁴⁻³⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/


身輕言微

ㄕㄣ ㄑㄧㄥ ㄧㄢˊ ㄨㄟ

ㄕㄣ ㄑㄧㄥ ㄧㄢˊ ㄨㄟˊ

шэньцинъяньвэй

/ʂən⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ weɪ̯⁵⁵/

/ʂən⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵/

/ʂən⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ weɪ̯⁵⁵/

/ʂən⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵/


誨人不倦

ㄏㄨㄟˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄩㄢˋ

хуэйжэньбуцзюань

/xu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛn⁵¹/

/fuːi̯³³ jɐn²¹ pɐt̚⁵ kyːn²²/

/xu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛn⁵¹/

/fuːi̯³³ jɐn²¹ pɐt̚⁵ kyːn²²/

The Master said, "The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied - which one of these things belongs to me?"

子曰：「默而識之，學而不厭，誨人不倦，何有於我哉？」

子曰：「默而识之，学而不厌，诲人不倦，何有于我哉？」

Our attitude towards ourselves should be “to be insatiable in learning” and towards others “to be tireless in teaching”.

1938, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《中國共產黨在民族戰爭中的地位》 (The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War). English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

Duì zìjǐ, “xué ér bù yàn”, duì rénjia, “huì rén bù juàn”, wǒmen yīng qǔ zhè zhǒng tàidù.

對自己，「學而不厭」，對人家，「誨人不倦」，我們應取這種態度。

对自己，「学而不厌」，对人家，「诲人不倦」，我们应取这种态度。


學而不厭

ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄦˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄧㄢˋ

/ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ jɛn⁵¹/

/hɔːk̚² jiː²¹ pɐt̚⁵ jiːm³³/

/ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ jɛn⁵¹/

/hɔːk̚² jiː²¹ pɐt̚⁵ jiːm³³/

子曰：「默而識之，學而不厭，誨人不倦，何有於我哉？」

子曰：「默而识之，学而不厌，诲人不倦，何有于我哉？」

對自己，「學而不厭」，對人家，「誨人不倦」，我們應取這種態度。

对自己，「学而不厌」，对人家，「诲人不倦」，我们应取这种态度。


絢麗多彩

ㄒㄩㄢˋ ㄌㄧˋ ㄉㄨㄛ ㄘㄞˇ

сюаньлидоцай

/ɕy̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ li⁵¹ tu̯ɔ⁵⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/hyːn³³ lɐi̯²² tɔː⁵⁵ t͡sʰɔːi̯³⁵/

/hyːn³³ lɐi̯²² tɔː⁵⁵ t͡sʰɔːi̯³⁵/

2004 December 9, Xu Wei (lyrics and music), “旅行 [lǚxíng, Journey]”, in 每一刻都是嶄新的 [Every Moment Is Completely New], performed by Xu Wei:

Who drew this sky and this ground / Then drew you and me / Made our world gorgeous and colourful

Shéi huàchū zhè tiāndì, Yòu huàxià wǒ hé nǐ, Ràng wǒmen de shìjiè xuànlìduōcǎi

誰畫出這天地 又畫下我和你 讓我們的世界絢麗多彩

谁画出这天地 又画下我和你 让我们的世界绚丽多彩

(figurative) wonderful; brilliant; impressive; magnificent


毀人不倦

ㄏㄨㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄩㄢˋ

хуэйжэньбуцзюань

/xu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛn⁵¹/

/xu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛn⁵¹/

zh-l

誨人不倦／诲人不倦 (huìrénbùjuàn)


aki kapja, marja

Literally, “whoever can seize it, takes it”.

lit

(idiomatic) It's catch-as-catch-can. (one can use any available means or methods)


de quoi je me mêle

LL-Q150 (fra)-LoquaxFR-de quoi je me mêle.wav

mind your own business
mind your own business

none of your business
none of your business

(informal) mind your own business! that's none of your business!


أستغفر الله

head

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ • (ʔastaḡfiru llāha)

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ (canonical)
ʔastaḡfiru llāha (romanization)

→ Azerbaijani: əstəğfirullah

Japanese: アスタグフィルッラー (asutagufirurrā)

→ Malay: astaghfirullah, astaga

desc

اَسْتَغْفِرُاللّٰه

→ Classical Persian: اَسْتَغْفِرُاللّٰه (astağfiru-l-lāh)

اَسْتَغْفِرُاللّٰه

Iranian Persian: اَسْتَغْفِرُاللّٰه (astağfer-ollâh)

→ Turkish: estağfirullah

→ Uzbek: astagʻfirulloh

Ar-أستغفر الله.ogg

astaghfirullah, I ask God for forgiveness; to do istighfar.

بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ (bi-smi llāhi, “in the name of God”)


一禾九穗

ㄧ ㄏㄜˊ ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄙㄨㄟˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xɤ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ su̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ wɔː²¹ kɐu̯³⁵ sɵy̯²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xɤ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ su̯eɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ wɔː²¹ kɐu̯³⁵ sɵy̯²²/


建瓴高屋

ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄍㄠ ㄨ

цзяньлингао’у

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ liŋ³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ u⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ liŋ³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ u⁵⁵/

高屋建瓴 高屋建瓴#Chinese


屋上建瓴

ㄨ ㄕㄤˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄌㄧㄥˊ

ушанцзяньлин

/u⁵⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ liŋ³⁵/

/u⁵⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ liŋ³⁵/

高屋建瓴 高屋建瓴#Chinese


高瞻遠矚

ㄍㄠ ㄓㄢ ㄩㄢˇ ㄓㄨˇ

гаочжаньюаньчжу

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂän⁵⁵ ɥɛn²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

nǐ zhème gāozhānyuǎnzhǔ de xiǎngfǎ hái yǒudiǎn'ér dàolǐ a

你這麼高瞻遠矚的想法還有點兒道理啊

你这么高瞻远瞩的想法还有点儿道理啊

to stand high and see far; to take a broad and long-term view; to show great foresight


莫測高深

ㄇㄛˋ ㄘㄜˋ ㄍㄠ ㄕㄣ

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰɤ⁵¹ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵/

/mɔːk̚² t͡sʰɐk̚⁵ kou̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵/

/mu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰɤ⁵¹ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵/

/mɔːk̚² t͡sʰɐk̚⁵ kou̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵/

too profound to be understood; enigmatic; unfathomable


高深莫測

ㄍㄠ ㄕㄣ ㄇㄛˋ ㄘㄜˋ

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵ mu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰɤ⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ mɔːk̚² t͡sʰaːk̚⁵/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵ mu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰɤ⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ mɔːk̚² t͡sʰaːk̚⁵/


szabad a vásár

→ Pannonian Rusyn: сабат-вашар (sabat-vašar)

Literally, “the sale is free”, roughly translating into “(everyone is) free to bargain.”

(idiomatic) It's up for grabs. (available for anyone to obtain or claim)


高視闊步

ㄍㄠ ㄕˋ ㄎㄨㄛˋ ㄅㄨˋ

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ kʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ kʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹/

to carry oneself proudly; to strut; to prance


另請高明

ㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄑㄧㄥˇ ㄍㄠ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

линцингаомин

/liŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/lɪŋ²² t͡sʰɪŋ³⁵ kou̯⁵⁵ mɪŋ²¹/

/liŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/lɪŋ²² t͡sʰɪŋ³⁵ kou̯⁵⁵ mɪŋ²¹/

to find someone better qualified (than myself)


高談闊論

ㄍㄠ ㄊㄢˊ ㄎㄨㄛˋ ㄌㄨㄣˋ

гаотаньколунь

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ tʰän³⁵ kʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ lu̯ən⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ tʰaːm²¹ fuːt̚³ lɵn²²/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ tʰän³⁵ kʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ lu̯ən⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ tʰaːm²¹ fuːt̚³ lɵn²²/

換盞傳杯，高談闊論。

换盏传杯，高谈阔论。

Tāmen sān gèrén wéi zhe yāndēng tántiān, xímiàn shàng zhǔ bīn sì wèi, yě zài nàlǐ gāotánkuòlùn qǐlái.

他們三個人圍著煙燈談天，席面上主賓四位，也在那裡高談闊論起來。

他们三个人围着烟灯谈天，席面上主宾四位，也在那里高谈阔论起来。

to indulge in loud and empty talk; to talk volubly or bombastically


高聳入雲

ㄍㄠ ㄙㄨㄥˇ ㄖㄨˋ ㄩㄣˊ

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ sʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐu⁵¹ yn³⁵/

/kou̯⁵⁵ sʊŋ³⁵ jɐp̚² wɐn²¹/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ sʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐu⁵¹ yn³⁵/

/kou̯⁵⁵ sʊŋ³⁵ jɐp̚² wɐn²¹/

to reach to the sky; to tower into the clouds


高歌猛進

ㄍㄠ ㄍㄜ ㄇㄥˇ ㄐㄧㄣˋ

гаогэмэнцзинь

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ kɤ⁵⁵ mɤŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕin⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ kɔː⁵⁵ maːŋ¹³ t͡sɵn³³/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ kɤ⁵⁵ mɤŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕin⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ kɔː⁵⁵ maːŋ¹³ t͡sɵn³³/


高屋建瓴

ㄍㄠ ㄨ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄌㄧㄥˊ

гао’уцзяньлин

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ u⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ liŋ³⁵/

/kou̯⁵⁵ ʊk̚⁵ kiːn³³ lɪŋ²¹/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ u⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ liŋ³⁵/

/kou̯⁵⁵ ʊk̚⁵ kiːn³³ lɪŋ²¹/

From 《史記·高祖本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Gaozu).

The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Dìshì biànlì, qí yǐ xià bīng yú zhūhóu, pìyóu jū gāo wū zhī shàng jiàn líng shuǐ yě.

地勢便利，其以下兵於諸侯，譬猶居高屋之上建瓴水也。

地势便利，其以下兵于诸侯，譬犹居高屋之上建瓴水也。

to sweep down irresistibly from a commanding height; to operate from a strategically advantageous position


ông nói gà, bà nói vịt

[ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ nɔj˧˦ ɣaː˨˩ ʔɓaː˨˩ nɔj˧˦ vit̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ nɔj˨˩˦ ɣaː˦˩ ʔɓaː˦˩ nɔj˨˩˦ vit̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ nɔj˦˥ ɣaː˨˩ ʔɓaː˨˩ nɔj˦˥ vɨt̚˨˩˨]

[ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ nɔj˦˥ ɣaː˨˩ ʔɓaː˨˩ nɔj˦˥ jɨt̚˨˩˨]

(literal) he said chickens, she said ducks


râu ông nọ cắm cằm bà kia

[zəw˧˧ ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ nɔ˧˨ʔ kam˧˦ kam˨˩ ʔɓaː˨˩ kiə˧˧]

[ʐəw˧˧ ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ nɔ˨˩ʔ kam˦˧˥ kam˦˩ ʔɓaː˦˩ kiə˧˧]

[ɹəw˧˧ ʔəwŋ͡m˧˧ nɔ˨˩˨ kam˦˥ kam˨˩ ʔɓaː˨˩ kiə˧˧]

(literal) this gentleman's beard transplanted onto that lady's chin

square peg in a round hole
square peg in a round hole

(figurative) a square peg in a round hole


head

una donna senza un uomo è come un pesce senza bicicletta

Translation of English a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle, which was coined by Irina Dunn in 1970.

der

a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle, a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle


高官厚祿

ㄍㄠ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄏㄡˋ ㄌㄨˋ

гаогуаньхоулу

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ lu⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ kuːn⁵⁵ hɐu̯¹³ lʊk̚²/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ lu⁵¹/

/kou̯⁵⁵ kuːn⁵⁵ hɐu̯¹³ lʊk̚²/

high position and handsome salary; high posts with salaries to match


kautta rantain

(figuratively) in a roundabout or long-winded way


mielin kielin

olla mielin kielin
olla mielin kielin#Finnish


空口說空話

ㄎㄨㄥ ㄎㄡˇ ㄕㄨㄛ ㄎㄨㄥ ㄏㄨㄚˋ

кункоу шо кунхуа

/kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ xu̯ä⁵¹/

空口說白話 空口說白話#Chinese

空口说白话 空口说白话#Chinese

Synonym of 空口說白話／空口说白话 (kōngkǒu shuō báihuà, “to make empty promises”)


sen tähden

therefore, consequently, thence, thus, for the sake (of)


空口說白話

ㄎㄨㄥ ㄎㄡˇ ㄕㄨㄛ ㄅㄞˊ ㄏㄨㄚˋ

кункоу шо байхуа

/kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ paɪ̯³⁵ xu̯ä⁵¹/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ syːt̚³ paːk̚² waː²²/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ syːt̚³ paːk̚² waː²²/

I expected you to send money today, but it turned out to be empty talk.

Zhǐwàng nǐ jīntiān sòng qián lái, yuánlái shì kōngkǒushuōbáihuà.

指望你今天送錢來，原來是空口說白話。

指望你今天送钱来，原来是空口说白话。


空口無憑

ㄎㄨㄥ ㄎㄡˇ ㄨˊ ㄆㄧㄥˊ

/kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ pʰiŋ³⁵/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ pʰɐŋ²¹/

/kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ pʰiŋ³⁵/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ pʰɐŋ²¹/

Words of mouth being no guarantee, a written statement is hereby given.

空口無憑，立字為證。

空口无凭，立字为证。


空口講白話

ㄎㄨㄥ ㄎㄡˇ ㄐㄧㄤˇ ㄅㄞˊ ㄏㄨㄚˋ

kōngkǒu jiǎng báihuà [Phonetic:kōngkóujiǎngbáihuà]

кункоу цзян байхуа

/kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ paɪ̯³⁵ xu̯ä⁵¹/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ kɔːŋ³⁵ paːk̚² waː²²/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ hɐu̯³⁵ kɔːŋ³⁵ paːk̚² waː²²/

空口說白話 空口說白話#Chinese

空口说白话 空口说白话#Chinese


out of conceit with

No longer fond of; having turned against (something).


Dio ce la mandi buona

Literally, “may God send it good to us”.

let's hope for the best, let's hope against hope


più facile a dirsi che a farsi

Compare French plus facile à dire qu’à faire.

easier said than done
easier said than done


gesagt, getan

no sooner said than done
no sooner said than done


夠喝一壺的

ㄍㄡˋ ㄏㄜ ㄧ ㄏㄨˊ ˙ㄉㄜ

gòu hē yī hú de [Phonetic:gòu hē yì hú de]

гоу хэ и ху дэ

/koʊ̯⁵¹ xɤ⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu³⁵ d̥ə³/

/koʊ̯⁵¹ xɤ⁵⁵ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ xu³⁵ d̥ə³/

Fortunately you didn't let this person take part in this matter, otherwise, this person would make great troubles to you!

Nǐmen kuīde méi ràng zhèi rén chānhuor zhèi shìr, bùrán a, zhèi rén gòu nǐmen hē yī hú de!

你們虧得沒讓這人摻和兒這事兒，不然啊，這人夠你們喝一壺的！

你们亏得没让这人掺和儿这事儿，不然啊，这人够你们喝一壶的！