شحال الساعة

شحال الساعة؟

شحال الساعة؟ • (šḥāl es-sāʕa)

شحال الساعة ؟ (canonical)
šḥāl es-sāʕa (romanization)


есть такая партия

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есть така́я па́ртия!

есть така́я па́ртия! • (jestʹ takája pártija!)

есть така́я па́ртия ! (canonical)
jestʹ takája pártija! (romanization)

A catch phrase allegedly uttered by Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin on June 17, 1917 at the First All–Russian Congress of Soviets in response to the thesis of the Minister of the Provisional Government Irakli Tsereteli.

– В настоя́щий моме́нт нет па́ртии, кото́рая могла́ бы взять власть в свои́ ру́ки и вы́вести страну́ из ха́оса.
– Есть така́я па́ртия!
– Какая партия, позвольте вас спросить?
– Э́то па́ртия большевико́в! (Аплодисме́нты, смех).
– V nastojáščij momént net pártii, kotóraja moglá by vzjatʹ vlastʹ v svoí rúki i vývesti stranú iz xáosa.
– Jestʹ takája pártija!
– Kakaja partija, pozvolʹte vas sprositʹ?
– Éto pártija bolʹševikóv! (Aplodisménty, smex).
– At the moment, there is no [political] party that could take power into its own hands and lead the country out of chaos.
– There is such a party!
– Which party, let me ask you?
– This is the Bolshevik Party! (Applause, laughter).


at iba pa

at ibá pa (canonical)
ᜀᜆ᜔ ᜁᜊ ᜉ (Baybayin)

[ʔɐt̪ ʔɪˌba ˈpa]

etc.; et cetera; and so on; and so forth


中道而廢

ㄓㄨㄥ ㄉㄠˋ ㄦˊ ㄈㄟˋ

чжундаоэрфэй

/ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ feɪ̯⁵¹/

/ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ feɪ̯⁵¹/

change horses in midstream
change horses in midstream

to give up halfway through a task; to not finish what one has started; to change horses in midstream


中途而廢

ㄓㄨㄥ ㄊㄨˊ ㄦˊ ㄈㄟˋ

/ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ tʰu³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ feɪ̯⁵¹/

/ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ tʰu³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ feɪ̯⁵¹/


年高德劭

ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄍㄠ ㄉㄜˊ ㄕㄠˋ

няньгаодэшао

/ni̯ɛn³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ tɤ³⁵ ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/niːn²¹ kou̯⁵⁵ tɐk̚⁵ siːu̯²²/

/ni̯ɛn³⁵ kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ tɤ³⁵ ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/niːn²¹ kou̯⁵⁵ tɐk̚⁵ siːu̯²²/

to be advanced in age and eminent in virtue


ollo ó can

From ollo (“eye”) ó (“at the”) can (“dog”), "[have an] eye on the dog!".


出言有章

ㄔㄨ ㄧㄢˊ ㄧㄡˇ ㄓㄤ

/ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂɑŋ⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ jɛn³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂɑŋ⁵⁵/

words flow from the mouth as from the pen of a master


各盡其職

ㄍㄜˋ ㄐㄧㄣˋ ㄑㄧˊ ㄓˊ

гэцзиньцичжи

/kɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕin⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/kɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕin⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵/

each person attends to his or her own duties


接人待物

ㄐㄧㄝ ㄖㄣˊ ㄉㄞˋ ㄨˋ

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵ taɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹/

/t͡siːp̚³ jɐn²¹ tɔːi̯²² mɐt̚²/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵ taɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹/

/t͡siːp̚³ jɐn²¹ tɔːi̯²² mɐt̚²/

getting along with others; dealing with people


comassim

(Internet slang) Eye dialect spelling of como assim.


tmj

(Brazil, Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of tamo junto.


政令不出中南海

ㄓㄥˋ ㄌㄧㄥˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄔㄨ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄋㄢˊ ㄏㄞˇ

чжэнлин бу чу Чжуннаньхай

/ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ liŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ nän³⁵ xaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

dzing³ ling⁶ bat⁷ tsoet⁷ dzung¹ naam⁴ hoi²

/t͡sɪŋ³³ lɪŋ²² pɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰɵt̚⁵ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ naːm²¹ hɔːi̯³⁵/

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

policies and decrees ordered by the central government of the People's Republic of China are not executed by local governments


bellows to mend

This constitutes the process of respiration or breathing, and on its due performance will chiefly depend the health and usefulness of the animal. A horse calling “bellows-to-mend” is fit for little.

1859, James Crawford Ledlie Carson, The Form of the Horse, page 25:

A pause now took place, and some mutual feinting and dodging, it being 'bellows to mend' on each side.

1897, R. G. Allanson-Winn, Bertram Fletcher Robinson, Boxing, page 72:


tief in die Tasche greifen müssen

De-tief in die Tasche greifen müssen.ogg

Literally, “to have to dig deep in one's pocket”.

lit

Ich musste tief in die Tasche greifen, um mir das neue Auto leisten zu können.

pay through the nose
pay through the nose


one's name is mud

His name will be mud once people learn the truth about why he was fired.

My name is Mud / Not to be confused with Bill, or Jack, or Pete, or Dennis / My name is Mud, it's always been / 'Cause I'm the most boring sonsabitch you've ever seen / I dress in blue, yes, navy blue from head to toe / I'm rather drab, except my patent shoes / I make 'em shine, well, most the time

1993, “My Name is Mud”, performed by Primus:

Thanks to disastrously unpopular attempts by the likes of BuzzFeed to create AI-assisted content, its name is mud in the media industry.

2023 November 21, Zing Tsjeng, “AI is changing the world – and I’ve just eaten the underwhelming pasta that proves it”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(idiomatic) One is unpopular, in disgrace or embroiled in scandal; one's reputation is tarnished.


väärän koivun takaa

(idiomatic) related through marriage, rather than by blood


十八年後又是一條好漢

ㄕˊ ㄅㄚ ㄋㄧㄢˊ ㄏㄡˋ ㄧㄡˋ ㄕˋ ㄧ ㄊㄧㄠˊ ㄏㄠˇ ㄏㄢˋ

shíbā nián hòu yòu shì yī tiáo hǎohàn [Phonetic:shíbā nián hòu yòu shì yì tiáo hǎohàn]

shih²-pa¹ nien² hou⁴ yu⁴ shih⁴ i¹ tʻiao² hao³-han⁴

shŕ-bā nyán hòu yòu shr̀ yī tyáu hǎu-hàn

шиба нянь хоу ю ши и тяо хаохань

/ʂʐ̩³⁵ pä⁵⁵ ni̯ɛn³⁵ xoʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ joʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ tʰi̯ɑʊ̯³⁵ xɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ xän⁵¹/

[Phonetic: shíbā nián hòu yòu shì yì tiáo hǎohàn]

From the belief that one will reincarnate after one's death, and become a man again 18 years later.

Eighteen years later one will become a hero again.

An expression said when one is about to die or get killed to convey their fearlessness or lack of fear towards death.


နမော ဗုဒ္ဓါယ သိဒ္ဓံ

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နမော ဗုဒ္ဓါယ သိဒ္ဓံ (namo buddhāya siddhaṃ)

နမော ဗုဒ္ဓါယ သိဒ္ဓံ.ogg

2012 November, Thomas N. Patton, “In pursuit of the sorcerer's power: sacred diagrams as technologies of potency”, in Contemporary Buddhism, volume 13, number 0 (overall work in English), Routledge, →DOI, →ISSN, page 220:

Homaɡe to the Buddha. Success!
Homage to the Dharma. Success!
Homage to the Sangha. Success!

namo buddhāya siddhaṃ ti
namo dhammassa siddhaṃ ti
namo saṃɡhassa siddhaṃ ti

namo buddhāya siddhaṃ
namo buddhāya siddhaṃ#Pali

Burmese script form of namo buddhāya siddhaṃ

en-နမော_ဗုဒ္ဓါယ_သိဒ္ဓံ-pi-phrase-mYQBbc5M


namo buddhāya siddhaṃ

The normal way of expressing this would be namo (“homage”) buddhassa (“to the Buddha”) siddham (“success”). However, instead of the normal dative of buddha, the form for the dative of purpose is used. It is entirely possible that the Sanskrit बुद्धाय (buddhāya) has been used instead; the initial part of the phrase is attested in Sanskrit with the cognate construction, in the form नमो (namo) बुद्धाय (buddhāya).


聽見風就是雨

ㄊㄧㄥ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄈㄥ ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄕˋ ㄩˇ

тинцзяньфэнцзюшиюй

/tʰiŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ fɤŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Originally from Jin Ping Mei:
:
From Guanchangxianxingji

You are a thief, and you are agreeing uncritically with whatever people say.

Nǐ zhè zéiqiúgēnzǐ, dé bù ge fēng ér jiù yǔ ér.

你這贼囚根子，得不個風兒就雨兒。

你这贼囚根子，得不个风儿就雨儿。

Tāmen zuò dōu lǎoyé de, tīngjiànfēngjiùshìyǔ, huángshàng yuán xǔ tā fēngwénzòushì, shuō cuò le yòu méiyǒu bùshì de.

他們做都老爺的，聽見風就是雨，皇上原許他風聞奏事，說錯了又沒有不是的。

他们做都老爷的，听见风就是雨，皇上原许他风闻奏事，说错了又没有不是的。

to agree uncritically with whatever people say

to parrot other people's words, to chime in with others


大石砸死蟹

大石責死蟹
大石磧死蟹
大石笮死蟹

/taːi̯²² sɛːk̚² t͡saːk̚³ sei̯³⁵ haːi̯¹³/

(Cantonese) to coerce and overpower by force or authority


ECRLOT

(post) Abbreviation of Enhanced Carrier Route Line of Travel.


ECRWSS

(post) Abbreviation of Enhanced (Extended) Carrier Route Walking Sequence Saturation.


ECRWSH

(post) Abbreviation of Enhanced Carrier Route Walk Sequence High-Density.


pane per i propri denti

trovare pane per i propri denti

Non è pane per i tuoi denti.

(literally, “It's not a feasible challenge for you.”)

something that provides a challenge to one; something that tests or exceeds one's abilities


huckleberry above one's persimmon

a huckleberry above one's persimmon (canonical)

[…] still it is a huckleberry above my persimmon to cipher out how it is with six months' schooling only […]

1837, Davy Crockett, Col. Crockett's Exploits and Adventures in Texas, page 1:

(US, idiomatic) Something beyond one's power or ability.


your head

Compare Chinese 你個頭／你个头 (nǐ gè tóu), Malay kepala otak kau.

Working after school hours part of 'service'? Your head lah.

(Singlish, Manglish, dismissal) my foot, my ass (a dismissive response to someone's remark)


aquí estamos

not much; you know; not a lot (vague unenthusiastic reply to ¿cómo estás? or similar question)


q. b. s. m.

Coordinate term: q. b. s. p.

que besa su mano
que besa su mano#Spanish

(archaic) Abbreviation of que besa su mano (“kissing your hand”).


q. b. s. p.

Coordinate term: q. b. s. m.

su más sincero servidor y amigo q. b. s. p.

your sincerest servant and friend (literally, “your sincerest servant and friend who kisses your feet”)

que besa sus pies
que besa sus pies#Spanish

(archaic) Abbreviation of que besa sus pies (“kissing your feet”).


dots, not feathers

From the stereotypes that people from India wear the Hindu bindi (dot) on their forehead, while Native Americans wear feathered headpieces.

Rishabh is Indian (dots, not feathers).

(slang) Expresses that a person described as "Indian" is from the country of India, as opposed to being of Native American (American Indian) background.


ئاللاھۇ ئەكبەر

ئاللاھۇ ئەكبەر • (allahu ekber)

From Arabic اللّٰهُ أَكْبَر (allāhu ʔakbar).

bor

اللّٰهُ أَكْبَر


già che ci sei

Literally, “already that you are there”.


啞巴吃黃連

ㄧㄚˇ ˙ㄅㄚ ㄔ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄌㄧㄢˊ

яба чи хуанлянь

/jä²¹⁴ b̥ä⁴ ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

/aː³⁵ paː⁵⁵ hɛːk̚³ wɔːŋ²¹ liːn²¹/

/jä²¹⁴ b̥ä⁴ ʈ͡ʂʰʐ̩⁵⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

/aː³⁵ paː⁵⁵ hɛːk̚³ wɔːŋ²¹ liːn²¹/

啞巴吃黃連——有苦說不出 啞巴吃黃連——有苦說不出#Chinese

哑巴吃黄连——有苦说不出 哑巴吃黄连——有苦说不出#Chinese

Synonym of 啞巴吃黃連——有苦說不出／哑巴吃黄连——有苦说不出 (yǎba chī huánglián, yǒu kǔ shuōbùchū)


cukup jelas

cukup (“enough”) + jelas (“clear”), literally “clear enough”


阿吽の呼吸

阿吽の呼吸 (canonical)
aun no kokyū (romanization)

(idiomatic) having minds that are in sync, two heart beat as one


معاذ الله

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مَعَاذَ ٱللّٰهِ

مَعَاذَ ٱللّٰهِ • (maʕāḏa llāhi)

مَعَاذَ ٱللّٰهِ (canonical)
maʕāḏa llāhi (romanization)

→ Persian: معاذالله (ma'azallâh)

قَالَ مَعَاذَ اللّٰهِ أَن نَأْخُذَ إِلَّا مَنْ وَجَدْنَا مَتَاعَنَا عِنْدَهُ إِنَّا إِذًا لَظَالِمُونَ

[Joseph] responded, “God forbid that we should take other than the one with whom we found our property. Otherwise, we would surely be unjust.”

qāla maʕāḏa llāhi ʔan naʔḵuḏa ʔillā man wajadnā matāʕanā ʕindahu ʔinnā ʔiḏan laẓālimūna


dalam negeri

Compound of dalam (“inside”) + negeri (“nation”), calque of Dutch binnenlands (“national, domestic”).

clq

domestic: internal to a specific country.


humanly possible

as fast as humanly possible

We'll do anything humanly possible to avoid the ticket.

Capable of being done by a human; within the limits of human abilities.


τεκνό της βιολέτας

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τεκνό της βιολέτας • (teknó tis violétas)

(Kaliarda) gay prostitute [literally "child of Violeta"]


roll tide

From the University of Alabama's fight song Yea Alabama, which ends in the words “Go, roll to victory, Hit your stride, You're Dixie's football pride, Crimson Tide! [Roll Tide, Roll Tide!]”.

University of Alabama
w:University of Alabama

An all-purpose term of enthusiasm in support of the University of Alabama football team.


少不經事

ㄕㄠˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄕˋ

/ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/


少不更事

ㄕㄠˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄍㄥ ㄕˋ

ㄕㄠˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄕˋ

/ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ kɤŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/siːu̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ kɐŋ⁵⁵ siː²²/

/ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ kɤŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/ʂɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/siːu̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ kɐŋ⁵⁵ siː²²/

young and inexperienced in life; wet behind the ears


難乎其難

ㄋㄢˊ ㄏㄨ ㄑㄧˊ ㄋㄢˊ

наньхуцинань

/nän³⁵ xu⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ nän³⁵/

/nän³⁵ xu⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ nän³⁵/


難上加難

ㄋㄢˊ ㄕㄤˋ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄋㄢˊ

наньшанцзянань

/nän³⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ nän³⁵/

/naːn²¹ sœːŋ²² kaː⁵⁵ naːn²¹/

/lan²³⁻³³ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²³/

/lan²⁴⁻¹¹ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²⁴/

/lan²⁴⁻¹¹ siaŋ³³⁻¹¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²⁴/

/lan²³⁻³³ siaŋ³³⁻²¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²³/

/nän³⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ nän³⁵/

/naːn²¹ sœːŋ²² kaː⁵⁵ naːn²¹/

/lan²³⁻³³ siɔŋ³³⁻²¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²³/

/lan²⁴⁻¹¹ siɔŋ³³⁻¹¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²⁴/

/lan²⁴⁻¹¹ siaŋ³³⁻¹¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²⁴/

/lan²³⁻³³ siaŋ³³⁻²¹ ka⁴⁴⁻³³ lan²³/


we live in a society

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-we live in a society.wav

A truncation of longer phrases of the form e.g. "we live in a society in which X", where X is typically some form of hypocrisy or absurdity. In image macros, this is often paired with a picture of The Joker, a comic book character.

(Internet slang, humorous) the mores of society are irrational, hypocritical or otherwise flawed


tyle z

no to tyle z tego pomysłu.


難上難

/nän³⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ nän³⁵/

/nän³⁵ ʂɑŋ⁵¹ nän³⁵/


搬石頭砸自己的腳

Move a rock and smash it to one's own feet.

ㄅㄢ ㄕˊ ˙ㄊㄡ ㄗㄚˊ ㄗˋ ㄐㄧˇ ˙ㄉㄜ ㄐㄧㄠˇ

pan¹ shih²-tʻou⁵ tsa² tzŭ⁴-chi³ tê⁵ chiao³

бань шитоу цза цзыцзи дэ цзяо

/pän⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³ t͡sä³⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ t͡ɕi²¹⁴ d̥ə⁴ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

It further shows that the Australian government has no sincerity in improving China-Australia relations. It is bound to bring further damage to bilateral relations, and will only end up hurting itself.

2021, 中华人民共和国驻澳大利亚联邦大使馆 (The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia), 驻澳大利亚使馆发言人表态

Tā zàicì biǎomíng Ào fāng duì gǎishàn Zhōng Ào guānxì háowú chéngyì, shìbì duì shuāngbiān guānxì zàochéng jìnyībù sǔnhài, yě bìjiāng bānqǐ shítou zá zìjǐ de jiǎo.

它再次表明澳方對改善中澳關係毫無誠意，勢必對雙邊關係造成進一步損害，也必將搬起石頭砸自己的腳。

它再次表明澳方对改善中澳关系毫无诚意，势必对双边关系造成进一步损害，也必将搬起石头砸自己的脚。

shoot oneself in the foot
shoot oneself in the foot


torpağı sanı yaşayasan

LL-Q9292 (aze)-Azerbaijani audiorecordings-torpağı sanı yaşayasan.wav

Literally, 'may you live as many [years] as the [grains of] soil [that was put into his/her grave]'.

Dünən rəhmətlik qardaşının işlədiyi karxanadan keçirdim, torpağı sanı yaşayasan.

Yesterday I was passing by the quarry where your late brother used to work, may you live a long life.

(idiomatic) Said when mentioning a deceased person, usually a near relative of the interlocutor, to wish the latter a long life.


kdo s čím zachází, s tím také schází

[ɡdo s t͡ʃiːm zaxaːziː s ciːm takɛː sxaːziː]

Pokud proti tomuto postupu nyní ODS veřejně brojí, pláče nad rozlitým mlékem, neboť čím kdo zachází, tím také schází.

live by the sword, die by the sword
live by the sword, die by the sword

what goes around comes around
what goes around comes around

(figurative) live by the sword, die by the sword, what goes around comes around


feet dry

The aircraft headed “feet-dry” by the pilot's judicious use of rudders and afterburners.

Feet wet: Fighter direction brevity code used to report that a plane had left land ("feet dry") and was now over water.

1994, Paul T. Gillcrist, Tomcat!: The Grumman F-14 Story, page 196:


feet wet

Three minutes later, at 2015, Captain Brindel entered the CIC and was notified of TN 2202 “feet wet” (aviation terminology meaning that an aircraft is over water) in the northern Persian Gulf and heading south.

1997, Jeffrey L. Levinson, Randy L. Edwards, Missile Inbound: The Attack on the Stark in the Persian Gulf, page 71:

[…] when you'd crossed the coastline after departing the ship Roger Klondike twelve dash four, understand flight of three. Feet wet.

2008, David A. Ballentine, Gunbird Driver: A Marine Huey Pilot's War in Vietnam, page 56:


無大無小

(Northern Min, Shadi Wu) to have no sense of who is senior and who is junior; to show no respect to elders


冇得大細

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ tɤ̞²⁴ tai̯²¹⁻¹¹ si⁴⁵/

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ tɤ̞²⁴ tai̯²¹⁻¹¹ ɕi⁴⁵/

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ tɤ̞²⁴ tai̯²¹⁻¹¹ si⁴⁵/

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ tɤ̞²⁴ tai̯²¹⁻¹¹ ɕi⁴⁵/

(Xiang) to have no sense of who is senior and who is junior; to show no respect to elders


冇上冇下

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ ʂan²¹⁻¹¹ mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ xa̠²¹⁻¹¹/

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ san²¹⁻¹¹ mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ xa̠²¹⁻¹¹/

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ ʂan²¹⁻¹¹ mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ xa̠²¹⁻¹¹/

/mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ san²¹⁻¹¹ mɒu̯²¹⁻¹¹ xa̠²¹⁻¹¹/


IDFK

(Internet slang, text messaging, vulgar) Initialism of I don't fucking know.


Jesus, take the wheel

From the 2005 song of the same name by Carrie Underwood.

A wish for Jesus Christ to take control of one's life or situation.


trước sau như một

[t͡ɕɨək̚˧˦ saw˧˧ ɲɨ˧˧ mot̚˧˨ʔ]

[ʈɨək̚˦˧˥ ʂaw˧˧ ɲɨ˧˧ mok̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʈɨək̚˦˧˥ saw˧˧ ɲɨ˧˧ mok̚˨˩ʔ]

[ʈɨək̚˦˥ ʂa(ː)w˧˧ ɲɨ˧˧ mok̚˨˩˨]

[ʈɨək̚˦˥ sa(ː)w˧˧ ɲɨ˧˧ mok̚˨˩˨]

LL-Q9199 (vie)-Penn Zero MSSJ-trước sau như một.wav

(literal) before and after, one and the same

(figurative) the person in question still stands by their opinion

Đừng lo. Anh đây trước sau như một.

Don't worry. I'll keep my word. / I've still got your back. / I'd never betray you.

(figurative) the person in question remains committed/devoted/faithful/loyal to the promise they made/cause they were for/another person they pledged allegiance to


pin a rose on your nose

Suggesting the idea of an award in the form of a rosette.

"Yes. Not only have you learned how to move objects around, you've discovered how electricity works. Pin a rose on your nose," I huff, mostly to cover my surprise.

"What in the hell is wrong with my offer? Any woman within a hundred miles would jump at the chance to become my wife."
She stared at him, incredulous. "Well, pin a rose on your nose, you cocky bastard. […]

1996, Jane Bonander, Winter Heart, page 117:

(humorous) Sarcastically suggesting that a person deserves a prize.


if only the czar knew

if only the tsar knew
if only the tsar knew#English

Alternative form of if only the tsar knew


I'll get my coat

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-I'll get my coat.wav

From a recurring sketch in British 1990s comedy series The Fast Show, in which a character embarrasses himself and announces "I'll get my coat" before departing.

(Internet slang, UK, humorous) An admission that one has embarrassed oneself and should leave.


if only the tsar knew

A phrase attributed to Russian peasants who suffered mistreatment in the tsarist era. Compare German wenn das der Führer wüsste.

If somebody at the top of an abusive hierarchy were aware of the abuses, they might take action to stop them.


no word of a lie

(chiefly Ireland) No falsehood at all; the absolute truth.


not a word of a lie

no word of a lie
no word of a lie#English


আশমান-জমিন ফারাক

আশমান-জমিন ফারাক

আসমান জমিন ফারাক
আসমান জমিন ফারাক#Bengali

(rare, less-phonetic) Alternative spelling and pronunciation of আসমান জমিন ফারাক (asman zomin farak)


outra vaca no millo

Xan: ¡¿De qué, ho, de qué?! «Sol no curral, o tempo vai a mal».
Lourenzo: ¿Dí-lo pola coroa de nubes que ten?
Xan: Home claro.
Lourenzo: ¡Outra vaca no millo! «Sol con coroa, sinal de tarde boa»

Xan: "What the fuck? «Sun in the corral, the weather turns bad»".
Lourenzo: "You mean, because of the halo of clouds it has?".
Xan: "Obviously".
Lourenzo: "Here we go again! «Sun with crown, good evening sign»."


আসমান-জমিন ফারাক

আসমান-জমিন ফারাক

alternative spelling of আসমান জমিন ফারাক (asman zomin farak)


volta e dalle

E volta e dálle coas cousas tristes. Nin que m'atentara o demo pra me disfrazar de vello roñón, sendo como son tan churrusqueiro

Here we go again with the sad things. As if the devil tempted me to disguise as a grumpy old man, when I'm such a charm.


jajko mądrzejsze od kury

Literally, “[an] egg [that is] smarter than [a] hen”. Compare Russian я́йца ку́рицу не у́чат (jájca kúricu ne účat).

cog

я́йца ку́рицу не у́чат

(idiomatic) usually negatively, when a younger person with less knowledge teaches an older person


আসমান জমিন ফারাক

From আসমান (asman) + জমিন (zomin) + ফারাক (farak). Literally, “sky-ground dichotomy”.

(idiomatic) a huge difference; a night and day type of difference


斬狗教猴

(Hakka) to make a public demonstration of punishing a wrongdoer in order to deter innocents who might mimic the example of the wrongdoer


字裡行間

ㄗˋ ㄌㄧˇ ㄏㄤˊ ㄐㄧㄢ

цзылиханцзянь

/t͡sz̩⁵¹ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ xɑŋ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/t͡siː²² lɵy̯¹³ hɔːŋ²¹ kaːn⁵⁵/

/t͡sz̩⁵¹ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ xɑŋ³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/t͡siː²² lɵy̯¹³ hɔːŋ²¹ kaːn⁵⁵/


九流三教

ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄙㄢ ㄐㄧㄠˋ

цзюлюсаньцзяо

/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ li̯oʊ̯³⁵ sän⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/kɐu̯³⁵ lɐu̯²¹ saːm⁵⁵ kaːu̯³³/

/kɐu̯³⁵ lɐu̯²¹ saːm⁵⁵ kaːu̯³³/

三教九流 三教九流#Chinese


ज़हेनसीब

hi-phrase

ज़हेनसीब • (zahenasīb) (Urdu spelling زَہے نَصِیب)

zahenasīb (romanization)
زَہے نَصِیب (Urdu)

Borrowed from Classical Persian زهی نصیب (zahe/zihe nasīb). By surface analysis, ज़हे (zahe) + नसीब (nasīb). Compare Sindhi زهي نصيب.

cog

Sindhi زهي نصيب

as luck would have it
as luck would have it


不吝賜教

ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄧㄣˋ ㄘˋ ㄐㄧㄠˋ

ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄧㄣˋ ㄙˋ ㄐㄧㄠˋ

булиньцыцзяо

/pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ lin⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

булиньсыцзяо

/pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ lin⁵¹⁻⁵³ sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/pɐt̚⁵ lɵn²² t͡sʰiː³³ kaːu̯³³/

/pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ lin⁵¹⁻⁵³ sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/pɐt̚⁵ lɵn²² t͡sʰiː³³ kaːu̯³³/

to not be stinting with comments or criticism


殺雞駭猴

to kill the chicken to startle the monkey

ㄕㄚ ㄐㄧ ㄏㄞˋ ㄏㄡˊ

/ʂä⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ xaɪ̯⁵¹ xoʊ̯³⁵/

/ʂä⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ xaɪ̯⁵¹ xoʊ̯³⁵/

to punish an individual as an example to others


a háta mögött

[ɒ ˈhaːtɒ ˈmøɡøtː]

a (“the”) + hát (“back”) + -a (“his/her/its”, possessive suffix) + mögött (“behind”), literally “behind one’s back”

affix

A munkatársam szemben hízeleg a főnöknek, de a háta mögött gúnyt űz belőle.

My coworker is nice to the boss when he’s here, but makes fun of him when he’s not present.

behind someone's back
behind someone's back

(idiomatic) behind someone's back (when someone is not present)

Kati háta mögött eladták mindenét.

They’ve sold all Kati’s property behind her back.

(idiomatic) behind someone's back (without somebody's knowledge, deliberately leaving someone out)


moim skromnym zdaniem

in my humble opinion
in my humble opinion


机上の空論

机上の空論 (canonical)
kijō no kūron (romanization)

[kʲiʑo̞ː no̞ kɯ̟ːɾõ̞ɴ]

机上(きじょう) (kijō, “on paper; theoretical”) + の (no) + 空論(くうろん) (kūron, “empty theory; armchair theory”)


the trash takes itself out

A muscle jerked along her jawline, and then she was moving, winding her way out the doublewide gym doors.
“Thankfully, the trash has taken itself out.”
Mike looked from Elizabeth's stunned expression to Kevin Hunt's smirk.

People commit suicide there just from being kept for a few days. The idea amuses me: trash taking itself out is a goddamn public service. Weak people are terrified of the place.

2020, Ivy Wonder, Endgame: A Dark Mafia Romance:

(informal, Canada, US) An undesirable person leaves.


no question

Compare Middle English it is noo questyon (“there is no doubt”).

cog

Oh, I'll be there, no question.


who whom

He noted various indications that a somewhat more moderate view had emerged of the basic "who-whom" problem that Lenin had so starkly formulated […]

1971, Erik P. Hoffmann, Frederic J. Fleron, The Conduct of Soviet Foreign Policy, page 186:

The Bolsheviks may have held the commanding political heights, but in social terms the daunting question of "who — whom?" — as Lenin had put it — was still conspicuously unresolved.

1984, Max Hayward, Patricia Blake, Writers in Russia, 1917-1978, page 58:

(politics) Who will defeat or dominate whom? A Bolshevist principle or slogan, urging action against the capitalists.


it's a jungle out there

The world, or some other specified environment, is a harsh and dangerous place.


that'll be the frosty Friday

/ˌðætl̩ biː‿ðə ˌfɹɒsti ˈfɹaɪdeɪ/

/ˌðætl̩ bi‿ðə ˌfɹɔsti ˈfɹaɪˌdeɪ/

Probably a humorous elaboration of that’ll be the day, with frosty and Friday chosen for the alliteration; probably also implicitly evoking a cold day in Hell, referring to when Hell freezes over.

that'll be the day
that'll be the day#English

(idiomatic, informal) Synonym of that'll be the day (“said in reply to something that one believes will never happen”)


机上空論

机上空論 (canonical)
kijō kūron (romanization)

机上の空論 机上の空論#Japanese


kiedy przychodzi co do czego

/ˈkjɛ.dɘ pʂɘˈxɔ.d͡ʑi t͡sɔ dɔ ˈt͡ʂɛ.ɡɔ/

when push comes to shove
when push comes to shove


窮到褲穿窿

/kʰʊŋ²¹ tou̯³³ fuː³³ t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵ lʊŋ²¹⁻⁵⁵/


風雨兼程

ㄈㄥ ㄩˇ ㄐㄧㄢ ㄔㄥˊ

фэнъюйцзяньчэн

/fɤŋ⁵⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/fɤŋ⁵⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/


lepiej dmuchać na zimne

Literally, “it is better to blow on something cold”.

lit

better safe than sorry
better safe than sorry


hổng dám

1992, Nguyễn Văn Hiên (lyrics and music), Không Dám Đâu (I Wouldn't Dare!), performance by Hiền Thục
Ôi hấp dẫn tuyệt vời, nhưng mà em hổng dám đâu !

[They're] oh so superbly fascinating, but I wouldn't dare.

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

Pronunciation spelling of không dám, representing Southern Vietnam Vietnamese.


non per dire

non faccio per dire
non faccio per dire#Italian


non faccio per dire

not to brag; I don't mean to toot my own horn


working hard or hardly working

(informal, humorous) Used as a question to point out the listener's laziness.


芸が細かい

芸が細かい (canonical)
gei ga komakai (romanization)


wenn's kein Schneider ist

Literally, “if it’s not a tailor”. Origin unknown. The most plausible theory says that the original form was *wenn’s nicht der Schnitter ist (“if it’s not the [Grim] Reaper”). Then altered, either humorously or by taboo avoidance.

Immer rein, wenn’s kein Schneider ist!

(literally, “Come on in if it’s not a tailor!”)

(informal, humorous, slightly dated) Used when granting entry to someone who knocks at the door.


夙夜匪懈

ㄙㄨˋ ㄧㄝˋ ㄈㄟˇ ㄒㄧㄝˋ

/su⁵¹⁻⁵³ jɛ⁵¹ feɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹/

/sʊk̚⁵ jɛː²² fei̯³⁵ haːi̯²²/

/su⁵¹⁻⁵³ jɛ⁵¹ feɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹/

/sʊk̚⁵ jɛː²² fei̯³⁵ haːi̯²²/

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 260 (《詩經·大雅·烝民》)

lang

(《詩經·大雅·烝民》)

(《詩經·大雅·烝民》)

Intelligent is he and wise, Protecting his own person.
Never idle, day or night, In the service of the One man.

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

Jì míng qiě zhé, yǐ bǎo qí shēn.
Sùyè fěi xiè, yǐ shì yīrén.

既明且哲，以保其身。
夙夜匪解，以事一人。

Work day or night, follow the Principles.

中華民國國歌(The National Anthem of the Republic of China)

夙夜匪懈，主義是從。

夙夜匪懈，主义是从。


天寒地凍

ㄊㄧㄢ ㄏㄢˊ ㄉㄧˋ ㄉㄨㄥˋ

тяньханьдидун

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xän³⁵ ti⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʊŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiːn⁵⁵ hɔːn²¹ tei̯²² tʊŋ³³/

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ xän³⁵ ti⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʊŋ⁵¹/

/tʰiːn⁵⁵ hɔːn²¹ tei̯²² tʊŋ³³/


有口話人，冇口話自己

有口话人，冇口话自己
有口話人，無口話自己

jau⁵ hau² waa⁶ jan⁴, mou⁵ hau² waa⁶ zi⁶ gei²

jau⁵ hau² waa⁶ jan⁴, mou⁵ hau² waa⁶ dzi⁶ gei²

yeo⁵ heo² wa⁶ yen⁴, mou⁵ heo² wa⁶ ji⁶ géi²

/jɐu̯¹³ hɐu̯³⁵ waː²² jɐn²¹ mou̯¹³ hɐu̯³⁵ waː²² t͡siː²² kei̯³⁵/

pot calling the kettle black
pot calling the kettle black

pot calling the kettle black; to criticize someone for a fault that one also shares


à travail égal, salaire égal

equal pay for equal work
equal pay for equal work


на равных

head

на ра́вных • (na rávnyx)

на ра́вных (canonical)
na rávnyx (romanization)

as equals, on an equal footing, on equal terms


на короткой ноге

на коро́ткой ноге́

на коро́ткой ноге́ • (na korótkoj nogé)

на коро́ткой ноге́ (canonical)
na korótkoj nogé (romanization)

быть на коро́ткой ноге́ с кем-либо


с другой колокольни

с друго́й колоко́льни

с друго́й колоко́льни • (s drugój kolokólʹni)

с друго́й колоко́льни (canonical)
s drugój kolokólʹni (romanization)

(informal) from another angle, from a different angle

en-с_другой_колокольни-ru-phrase-v1CAk6lT


как грибы после дождя

как грибы́ по́сле дождя́

как грибы́ по́сле дождя́ • (kak gribý pósle doždjá)

как грибы́ по́сле дождя́ (canonical)
kak gribý pósle doždjá (romanization)

[kaɡ ɡrʲɪˈbɨ ˈpos⁽ʲ⁾lʲe dɐʐˈdʲa]

Compare Polish powstawać jak grzyby po deszczu.

(simile) like mushrooms, all over the place

en-как_грибы_после_дождя-ru-phrase-FRpBqhGw


poco importa

Literally, “it little matters”. Compare French peu importe.

Poco importa che sia impreciso.

It does not matter that it is imprecise.

(also with [che or quanto] + subj.) it is not very important; no matter (that, how)


equal pay for equal work

The concept of labor rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay.


bad scran to someone

(Ireland, archaic) A mild malediction of wishing that someone may have bad food.


偷雞不著蝕把米

ㄊㄡ ㄐㄧ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄠˊ ㄕˊ ㄅㄚˇ ㄇㄧˇ

tōu jī bùzháo shí bǎ mǐ [Phonetic:tōujībùzháoshíbámǐ]

тоу цзи бучжао ши ба ми

/tʰoʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɑʊ̯³⁵ ʂʐ̩³⁵ pä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

偷雞不成蝕把米 偷雞不成蝕把米#Chinese

偷鸡不成蚀把米 偷鸡不成蚀把米#Chinese

Synonym of 偷雞不成蝕把米／偷鸡不成蚀把米 (tōu jī bùchéng shí bǎ mǐ)


三拍子揃う

ja-pos

三(さん)拍(びょう)子(し)揃(そろ)う • (sanbyōshi sorou)

三拍子揃う (canonical)
sanbyōshi sorou (romanization)

[sã̠mbʲo̞ːɕi so̞ɾo̞ɯ̟]

meeting all three important requirements


偷雞不成蝕把米

ㄊㄡ ㄐㄧ ㄅㄨˋ ㄔㄥˊ ㄕˊ ㄅㄚˇ ㄇㄧˇ

tōu jī bùchéng shí bǎ mǐ [Phonetic:tōujībùchéngshíbámǐ]

тоу цзи бучэн ши ба ми

/tʰoʊ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʂʐ̩³⁵ pä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ mi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

to try to gain an advantage, only to end up worse off and suffer losses


since Adam was an oakum boy

since Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard

(archaic, slang) Since an extremely long time ago; since long before living memory.


that's the ticket for soup

In allusion to the card given to beggars for immediate relief at soup kitchens.

that's the ticket
that's the ticket#English

Archaic form of that's the ticket (“that is just right, or exactly what is needed”).


when Adam was an oakum boy

when Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard

(archaic, slang) An extremely long time ago; long before living memory.


head

when Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard

when Adam was an oakum boy
when Adam was an oakum boy#English


since Adam was an oakum boy in Chatham Dockyard

since Adam was an oakum boy
since Adam was an oakum boy#English


偷雞唔到蝕揸米

偷鸡唔到蚀揸米
偷雞唔到蝕拃米/偷鷄唔到蝕拃米/偷鸡唔到蚀拃米
偷雞唔到蝕渣米/偷鷄唔到蝕渣米/偷鸡唔到蚀渣米
偷雞唔到折揸米/偷鷄唔到折揸米/偷鸡唔到折揸米

/tʰɐu̯⁵⁵ kɐi̯⁵⁵ m̩²¹ tou̯³⁵ siːt̚² t͡saː⁵⁵ mɐi̯¹³/

(Cantonese) to try to gain an advantage, only to end up worse off and suffer losses


sold again and got the money

Costermongers' slang, from the announcement that used to be made when goods were sold.

(UK, slang, obsolete) Announced on having successfully deceived somebody.


可乘之機

ㄎㄜˇ ㄔㄥˊ ㄓ ㄐㄧ

/kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/

/hɔː³⁵ sɪŋ²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ kei̯⁵⁵/

/kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/

/hɔː³⁵ sɪŋ²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ kei̯⁵⁵/

opportunity that can be exploited to one's advantage


heti kättelyssä

(idiomatic) right away, straight away, from the outset, from the very beginning


että sellaista

there you have it
there you have it#English

(idiomatic) Indicates that the speaker is done speaking and is waiting for a response or reaction; in some cases equivalent to English so there you have it.


痛徹心扉

ㄊㄨㄥˋ ㄔㄜˋ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄈㄟ

тунчэсиньфэй

/tʰʊŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ feɪ̯⁵⁵/

/tʰʊŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵¹ ɕin⁵⁵ feɪ̯⁵⁵/


老淚縱橫

ㄌㄠˇ ㄌㄟˋ ㄗㄨㄥ ㄏㄥˊ

лаолэйцзунхэн

/lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ leɪ̯⁵¹ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ xɤŋ³⁵/

/lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ leɪ̯⁵¹ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ xɤŋ³⁵/

tears running down the face of an elderly person


frank und frei

Sey mir heute nichts zuwider! / Fühle mich so frank und frei; / Frische Luft und heitre Lieder / Holt’ ich selbst sie doch herbei.

1832, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust. Der Tragödie zweiter Teil [Faust, Part Two]:


rien à foutre

LL-Q150 (fra)-LoquaxFR-rien à foutre.wav


吳下阿蒙

[like] the generalLü Meng of the Kingdom Wu

ㄨˊ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄚ ㄇㄥˊ

ㄨˊ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄚˋ ㄇㄥˊ

/u³⁵ ɕi̯ä⁵¹ ˀä⁵⁵ mɤŋ³⁵/

/u³⁵ ɕi̯ä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ˀä⁵¹ mɤŋ³⁵/

/ŋ̍²¹ haː²² aː³³ mʊŋ²¹/

/u³⁵ ɕi̯ä⁵¹ ˀä⁵⁵ mɤŋ³⁵/

/u³⁵ ɕi̯ä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ˀä⁵¹ mɤŋ³⁵/

/ŋ̍²¹ haː²² aː³³ mʊŋ²¹/

ignorant person; person who has meagre and superficial knowledge


si fa presto

Si fa presto a dirlo.


脈あり

脈あり (canonical)
myaku ari (romanization)

[mʲa̠kɯ̟ a̠ɾʲi]

(especially of romance) showing promise for further development


the fact that

The fact that you struggle to do your homework proves that you need to go to tutoring.

Used to present an antecedent to a claim.

The real problem is the fact that the industry mistreats its workers.

Used to refer to a situation under discussion.


this much

Or when she would playfully say “I love you this much,” showing a small space between her hands

2012, Benedict Mejilla, A Chosen Destiny:

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see this, much.

At bottom, then, the Court took the unusual step of overruling precedent for the most fundamental of reasons: the need to ensure, in keeping with the Nation's oldest traditions, fair and dependable adjudications of a defendant's guilt. In this much alone, Ramos's reasoning evokes this Court's descriptions of watershed rules.

2021, Edwards v. Vannoy (U.S. Supreme Court No. 19–5807), Justice Kagan dissenting

The fact that has just been or is about to be stated.


rien n'y fait

Tu es tout nu / Sous ton tablier / Prêt à dégainer / Mais je t’avoue rien n’y fait

2006, “Je veux te voir”, in Pop Up, performed by Yelle:

nothing works! it's hopeless! it's no use!


ehjin nahoin

(idiomatic) in one piece, safe and sound (unhurt, unharmed)


稱王稱霸

ㄔㄥ ㄨㄤˊ ㄔㄥ ㄅㄚˋ

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ⁵⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ⁵⁵ pä⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ wɔːŋ²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ paː³³/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ⁵⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ⁵⁵ pä⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ wɔːŋ²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ paː³³/

to proclaim oneself hegemon; to seek hegemony; to domineer; to lord it over others


人模狗樣

ㄖㄣˊ ㄇㄛˊ ㄍㄡˇ ㄧㄤˋ

/ʐən³⁵ mu̯ɔ³⁵ koʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑŋ⁵¹/

ㄖㄣˊ ㄇㄛˊ ㄍㄡˇ ㄧㄤˋㄦ

жэньмогоуянр

/ʐən³⁵ mu̯ɔ³⁵ koʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑ̃ɻ⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ mou̯²¹ kɐu̯³⁵ jœːŋ²²/

/ʐən³⁵ mu̯ɔ³⁵ koʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑŋ⁵¹/

/ʐən³⁵ mu̯ɔ³⁵ koʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑ̃ɻ⁵¹/

/jɐn²¹ mou̯²¹ kɐu̯³⁵ jœːŋ²²/


God knew

God knew I wouldn't tell them. They'd have thought I was fucking crazy.

1994, Ron Zaczek, Farewell, Darkness: A Veteran's Triumph Over Combat Trauma, page 264:

The money Whitey’d left her, most of it was gone [...] Yes, certainly, a good portion of the money should be invested, kids’ college tuition, God knew how much that would add up to [...]

2020, Joyce Carol Oates, Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.:

sequence of tenses
sequence of tenses#English

free indirect speech
free indirect speech#English

simple past of God knows. An instance of sequence of tenses in free indirect speech, representing where the subject said or thought "God knows".

God knows

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see God, knew.


裝腔作勢

ㄓㄨㄤ ㄑㄧㄤ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄕˋ

чжуанцянцзоши

/ʈ͡ʂu̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/t͡sɔːŋ⁵⁵ hɔːŋ⁵⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ sɐi̯³³/

/t͡sɔːŋ⁵⁵ hɔːŋ⁵⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ sɐi̯³³/


kiedy przyjdzie co do czego

/ˈkjɛ.dɘ ˈpʂɘj.d͡ʑɛ t͡sɔ dɔ ˈt͡ʂɛ.ɡɔ/


gdy przyjdzie co do czego

/ɡdɘ ˈpʂɘj.d͡ʑɛ t͡sɔ dɔ ˈt͡ʂɛ.ɡɔ/


медведь на ухо наступил

медве́дь на у́хо наступи́л

медве́дь на у́хо наступи́л • (medvédʹ na úxo nastupíl)

медве́дь на у́хо наступи́л (canonical)
medvédʹ na úxo nastupíl (romanization)

Literally, “a bear trod on someone's ear”.

lit

Ему́ медве́дь на у́хо наступи́л.

said of someone who is tone-deaf and has no ear for music [with dative ‘person who is tone-deaf’]

en-медведь_на_ухо_наступил-ru-phrase-kqLM4~hJ


so sicher wie das Amen in der Kirche

De-so sicher wie das Amen in der Kirche.ogg

Literally, “as certain as the Amen in church”, that is, with the same certainty that service participants will say “amen” when required; e.g. in Catholic services, whenever the priest says in Ewigkeit (“forever”).


無牽無掛

ㄨˊ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄨˊ ㄍㄨㄚˋ

/u³⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ u³⁵ ku̯ä⁵¹/

/mou̯²¹ hiːn⁵⁵ mou̯²¹ kʷaː³³/

/bo²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡sʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ bo²⁴⁻¹¹ kua¹¹/

/bɤ²³⁻³³ t͡sʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ bɤ²³⁻³³ kua²¹/

/u³⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ u³⁵ ku̯ä⁵¹/

/mou̯²¹ hiːn⁵⁵ mou̯²¹ kʷaː³³/

/bo²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡sʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ bo²⁴⁻¹¹ kua¹¹/

/bɤ²³⁻³³ t͡sʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ bɤ²³⁻³³ kua²¹/


鳥不拉屎

ㄋㄧㄠˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄚ ㄕˇ

/ni̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ lä⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/ni̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ lä⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

(figurative, of a place, derogatory) deserted; desolate


好逸惡勞

ㄏㄠˋ ㄧˋ ㄨˋ ㄌㄠˊ

/xɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹ lɑʊ̯³⁵/

/hou̯³³ jɐt̚² wuː³³ lou̯²¹/

/xɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹⁻⁵³ u⁵¹ lɑʊ̯³⁵/

/hou̯³³ jɐt̚² wuː³³ lou̯²¹/

(derogatory) to indulge in comfort and despise laboring


conspicuous by one's absence

Occasionally at a bush dance, when the elderly folk were conspicuous by their absence, the M.C. would throw a jazz-garter on the floor, point at some lucky fellow, and shout, 'You have ten seconds to find its mate. A packet of cigarettes if you do'.
The girls would squeal and giggle and start running; […]

1965, R. H. Conquest, Horses in the Kitchen: True Tales of Outback Australia, page 37:

Raising suspicions by the fact of not being present at an expected place.


話雖如此

ㄏㄨㄚˋ ㄙㄨㄟ ㄖㄨˊ ㄘˇ

/xu̯ä⁵¹ su̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ ʐu³⁵ t͡sʰz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/waː²² sɵy̯⁵⁵ jyː²¹ t͡sʰiː³⁵/

/xu̯ä⁵¹ su̯eɪ̯⁵⁵ ʐu³⁵ t͡sʰz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/waː²² sɵy̯⁵⁵ jyː²¹ t͡sʰiː³⁵/

that said; nevertheless; be that as it may


it is no accident

Used to imply that something was deliberate, sometimes with the connotation of dishonesty.


舐犢情深

ㄕˋ ㄉㄨˊ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄕㄣ

/ʂʐ̩⁵¹ tu³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ ʂən⁵⁵/

/saːi̯³⁵ tʊk̚² t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/

/ʂʐ̩⁵¹ tu³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ ʂən⁵⁵/

/saːi̯³⁵ tʊk̚² t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ sɐm⁵⁵/

deep parental love; deep affection of parents towards their children


därom tvista de lärde

Literally, "thereof the learned dispute."

(idiomatic, often ironic) that is a point of contention among experts


chwarae teg

Chwarae teg iddyn nhw!

fair play (+ i (“to”)) (used to congratulate someone)


nature beckons

Synonym of nature calls (“expressing the need to urinate or defecate”)


隻眼開隻眼閉

/t͡sɛːk̚³ ŋaːn¹³ hɔːi̯⁵⁵ t͡sɛːk̚³ ŋaːn¹³ pɐi̯³³/


將勤補拙

ㄐㄧㄤ ㄑㄧㄣˊ ㄅㄨˇ ㄓㄨㄛ

ㄐㄧㄤ ㄑㄧㄣˊ ㄅㄨˇ ㄓㄨㄛˊ

цзянциньбучжо

/t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ pu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ pu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ³⁵/

/t͡sœːŋ⁵⁵ kʰɐn²¹ pou̯³⁵ t͡syːt̚³/

/t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ pu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ pu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ³⁵/

/t͡sœːŋ⁵⁵ kʰɐn²¹ pou̯³⁵ t͡syːt̚³/

to make up for one's lack of natural talent with hard work


無關緊要

ㄨˊ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄐㄧㄣˇ ㄧㄠˋ

угуаньцзиньяо

/u³⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/mou̯²¹ kʷaːn⁵⁵ kɐn³⁵ jiːu̯³³/

/u³⁵ ku̯än⁵⁵ t͡ɕin²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/mou̯²¹ kʷaːn⁵⁵ kɐn³⁵ jiːu̯³³/


盛氣凌人

ㄕㄥˋ ㄑㄧˋ ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄖㄣˊ

шэнцилинжэнь

/ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ liŋ³⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/sɪŋ²² hei̯³³ lɪŋ²¹ jɐn²¹/

/ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ liŋ³⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/sɪŋ²² hei̯³³ lɪŋ²¹ jɐn²¹/

to be arrogant and overbearing and bully others


一元復始

ㄧ ㄩㄢˊ ㄈㄨˋ ㄕˇ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɥɛn³⁵ fu⁵¹ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ jyːn²¹ fʊk̚² t͡sʰiː³⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ɥɛn³⁵ fu⁵¹ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ jyːn²¹ fʊk̚² t͡sʰiː³⁵/


惶惶不可終日

ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄖˋ

хуанхуанбукэчжунжи

/xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ ʐ̩⁵¹/

/wɔːŋ²¹ wɔːŋ²¹ pɐt̚⁵ hɔː³⁵ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ jɐt̚²/

to be extremely anxious; to be extremely terrified


兵不血刃

ㄅㄧㄥ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄩㄝˋ ㄖㄣˋ

ㄅㄧㄥ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄩㄝˇ ㄖㄣˋ

ㄅㄧㄥ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄝˇ ㄖㄣˋ

бинбусюэжэнь

/piŋ⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐən⁵¹/

/piŋ⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ɕy̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən⁵¹/

/piŋ⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən⁵¹/

/pɪŋ⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ hyːt̚³ jɐn²²/

/piŋ⁵⁵ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐən⁵¹/

/piŋ⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ɕy̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən⁵¹/

/piŋ⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən⁵¹/

/pɪŋ⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ hyːt̚³ jɐn²²/

(in a battle) to win without fighting or without much fight


家山有福

ㄐㄧㄚ ㄕㄢ ㄧㄡˇ ㄈㄨˊ

/t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ ʂän⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ fu³⁵/

/kaː⁵⁵ saːn⁵⁵ jɐu̯¹³ fʊk̚⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ ʂän⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ fu³⁵/

/kaː⁵⁵ saːn⁵⁵ jɐu̯¹³ fʊk̚⁵/

(chiefly Cantonese) to be blessed and fortunate because of the good feng shui of the graves of one's ancestors


性情中人

ㄒㄧㄥˋ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄖㄣˊ

синцинчжунжэнь

/ɕiŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/sɪŋ³³ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ jɐn²¹/

/ɕiŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/sɪŋ³³ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ jɐn²¹/

person who expresses their true emotions; genuine person


不吐不快

ㄅㄨˋ ㄊㄨˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄨㄞˋ

/pu⁵¹ tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ kʰu̯aɪ̯⁵¹/

/pɐt̚⁵ tʰou̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ faːi̯³³/

/pu⁵¹ tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ kʰu̯aɪ̯⁵¹/

/pɐt̚⁵ tʰou̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ faːi̯³³/

get something off one's chest
get off one's chest

to have to get something off one's chest; to have to say something to feel comfortable


死人冧樓

/sei̯³⁵ jɐn²¹ lɐm³³ lɐu̯²¹⁻³⁵/

/sei̯³⁵ jɐn²¹ lɐm³³ lɐu̯²¹⁻³⁵/

nei⁵ sei² jan⁴ lam³ lau⁴⁻² dou¹ jiu³ tung⁴ ngo⁵ gaau² dim⁶ keoi⁵.

你死人冧樓都要同我搞掂佢。

你死人冧楼都要同我搞掂佢。

(Cantonese, figurative) to have a disaster; to have a catastrophe


貪贓枉法

ㄊㄢ ㄗㄤ ㄨㄤˇ ㄈㄚˇ

таньцзанванфа

/tʰän⁵⁵ t͡sɑŋ⁵⁵ wɑŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/tʰaːm⁵⁵ t͡sɔːŋ⁵⁵ wɔːŋ³⁵ faːt̚³/

/tʰän⁵⁵ t͡sɑŋ⁵⁵ wɑŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ fä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/tʰaːm⁵⁵ t͡sɔːŋ⁵⁵ wɔːŋ³⁵ faːt̚³/


更有甚者

ㄍㄥˋ ㄧㄡˇ ㄕㄣˋ ㄓㄜˇ

гэнъюшэньчжэ

gɛnʺjušɛnʹčžɛ

/kɤŋ⁵¹ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/kɐŋ³³ jɐu̯¹³ sɐm²² t͡sɛː³⁵/

/kɤŋ⁵¹ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/kɐŋ³³ jɐu̯¹³ sɐm²² t͡sɛː³⁵/


用兵如神

ㄩㄥˋ ㄅㄧㄥ ㄖㄨˊ ㄕㄣˊ

/jʊŋ⁵¹ piŋ⁵⁵ ʐu³⁵ ʂən³⁵/

/jʊŋ⁵¹ piŋ⁵⁵ ʐu³⁵ ʂən³⁵/

to direct military operations with extraordinary skill


兩袖清風

ㄌㄧㄤˇ ㄒㄧㄡˋ ㄑㄧㄥ ㄈㄥ

/li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/lœːŋ¹³ t͡sɐu̯²² t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

/li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/lœːŋ¹³ t͡sɐu̯²² t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

(of a government official) to be uncorrupted and upright and never take bribes


調兵遣將

ㄉㄧㄠˋ ㄅㄧㄥ ㄑㄧㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄤˋ

дяобинцяньцзян

/ti̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹ piŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵¹/

/tiːu̯²² pɪŋ⁵⁵ hiːn³⁵ t͡sœːŋ³³/

/tiːu̯²² pɪŋ⁵⁵ hiːn³⁵ t͡sœːŋ³³/


財源滾滾

ㄘㄞˊ ㄩㄢˊ ㄍㄨㄣˇ ㄍㄨㄣˇ

цайюаньгуньгунь

/t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ ɥɛn³⁵ ku̯ən²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ku̯ən²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ jyːn²¹ kʷɐn³⁵ kʷɐn³⁵/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ jyːn²¹ kʷɐn³⁵ kʷɐn³⁵/


公婆拜蟹——腳手㩼

/koŋ³³⁻²³ pʰua⁵⁵ pai²¹³⁻⁵⁵ hoi³⁵ kʰa³³⁻²³ t͡sʰiu⁵² t͡soi¹¹/

(Teochew) to be hyperactive; to have itchy fingers


甕中捉鱉

ㄨㄥˋ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄓㄨㄛ ㄅㄧㄝ

вэнчжунчжобе

/wəŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ pi̯ɛ⁵⁵/

/ʊŋ³³ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʊk̚³ piːt̚³/

/wəŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ pi̯ɛ⁵⁵/

/ʊŋ³³ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʊk̚³ piːt̚³/

to catch or arrest a target already within one's grasp (and cannot escape)


懲惡勸善

ㄔㄥˊ ㄜˋ ㄑㄩㄢˋ ㄕㄢˋ

ㄔㄥˇ ㄜˋ ㄑㄩㄢˋ ㄕㄢˋ

чэнъэцюаньшань

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ˀɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂän⁵¹/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂän⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ ɔːk̚³ hyːn³³ siːn²²/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ˀɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕʰy̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʂän⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ ɔːk̚³ hyːn³³ siːn²²/

From the Zuo zhuan, late 4th century BCE

The Spring and Autumn Annals, in the appellations which it uses, is clear with an exquisite minuteness, distinct through obscurity, elegant by its gentle turns, and full without descending to be low, condemning what is evil, and encouraging what is good;—who but the sage [Confucius] could have compiled it as it is?

Chūnqiū zhī chēng, wēi ér xiǎn, zhì ér huì, wǎn ér chéngzhāng, jìn ér bù wū, chéng'è ér quànshàn, fēi shèngrén shéi néng xiū zhī?

春秋之稱，微而顯，志而晦，婉而成章，盡而不污，懲惡而勸善，非聖人誰能脩之？

春秋之称，微而显，志而晦，婉而成章，尽而不污，惩恶而劝善，非圣人谁能脩之？

to punish the wicked and encourage the good


near at hand

From Middle English neyr at hand, nere atte hande, equivalent to near + at + hand.

Standing on the mountain above Caerphilly, one may reflect upon the gap where once stood Llanbradach Viaduct, and look near at hand upon the restored ruins of Caerphilly Castle; man labours to rebuild the mediaeval whilst he ruthlessly scraps the modern.

1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in Railway Magazine, page 165:


天上天下唯我独尊

ja-pos

てんじょう てんげ ゆい が どくそん

てんじやう てんげ ゆい が どくそん

天(てん)上(じょう)天(てん)下(げ)唯(ゆい)我(が)独(どく)尊(そん) • (tenjō tenge yui ga dokuson) ^(←てんじやうてんげゆいがどくそん (tenzyau tenge yui ga dokuson)?)

天上天下唯我独尊 (canonical)
tenjō tenge yui ga dokuson (romanization)
tenzyau tenge yui ga dokuson (romanization)
てんじやうてんげゆいがどくそん (hiragana historical)

[tẽ̞ɲ̟d͡ʑo̞ː tẽ̞ŋɡe̞ jɯ̟i ɡa̠ do̞kɯ̟̊sõ̞ɴ]

From Literary Chinese 天上天下，唯我獨尊. In Buddhist legend, the phrase that Shakyamuni uttered right after he was born and on his feet taking seven steps about, pointing at heaven with his right hand and at earth with his left. This phrase seems to be a more condensed translation of what the Buddha was supposed to say. Compare the Pali aggō hamasmi lōkassa, jeṭṭō hamasmi lōkassa, seṭṭhō hamasmi lōkassa, ayamantimā jāti, natthidāni punabbhavo from the Dīgha Nikāya. A slightly different form is 天上天下唯我為尊, from a Chinese translation of the Dīrgha Āgama. Although the phrase sounds extremely arrogant, especially given that the one who purportedly said it was the founder of Buddhism, and it is indeed used to describe hubris, the 我 (“I/me; self; ego”) could be interpreted as "humans" in general instead of the Buddha alone, expressing a human-centric attitude in a country dominated by Hinduism, a polytheistic religion.

ncog

(literal, Buddhism) whether it's above heaven, or it's under heaven, only I reign supreme

Dīgha Nikāya
Dīrgha Āgama
Gautama Buddha
ja:天上天下唯我独尊


鬼斧神工

ㄍㄨㄟˇ ㄈㄨˇ ㄕㄣˊ ㄍㄨㄥ

гуйфушэньгун

/ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən³⁵ kʊŋ⁵⁵/

/kʷɐi̯³⁵ fuː³⁵ sɐn²¹ kʊŋ⁵⁵/

/ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂən³⁵ kʊŋ⁵⁵/

/kʷɐi̯³⁵ fuː³⁵ sɐn²¹ kʊŋ⁵⁵/

superlative craftsmanship; supernaturally fine craft (as if done by the spirits)


大費周章

ㄉㄚˋ ㄈㄟˋ ㄓㄡ ㄓㄤ

дафэйчжоучжан

/tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ feɪ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑŋ⁵⁵/

/taːi̯²² fɐi̯³³ t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵ t͡sœːŋ⁵⁵/

/tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ feɪ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂɑŋ⁵⁵/

/taːi̯²² fɐi̯³³ t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵ t͡sœːŋ⁵⁵/

to spend a lot of time and effort to handle a complicated matter; to go to a lot of trouble to handle a difficult matter


twoje życzenie jest dla mnie rozkazem

/ˈtfɔ.jɛ ʐɘˈt͡ʂɛ.ɲɛ jɛzd dla mɲɛ rɔsˈka.zɛm/

your wish is my command
your wish is my command


南蠻鴃舌

ㄋㄢˊ ㄇㄢˊ ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄕㄜˊ

наньманьцзюэшэ

/nän³⁵ män³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ ʂɤ³⁵/

/nän³⁵ män³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ ʂɤ³⁵/

From Mencius:
:
Note that in the pre-Qin period when this term was coined, the Chinese language was not spoken in the area known as South China today. See Old Yue language.

Now here is this shrike-tongued barbarian of the south, whose doctrines are not those of the ancient kings. You turn away from your master and become his disciple. Your conduct is different indeed from that of the philosopher Zeng.

Jīn yě nánmánjuéshé zhī rén, fēi xiānwáng zhī dào, zǐ bèi zǐ zhī shī ér xué zhī, yì yì yú Zēngzǐ yǐ.

今也南蠻鴃舌之人，非先王之道，子倍子之師而學之，亦異於曾子矣。

今也南蛮𫛞舌之人，非先王之道，子倍子之师而学之，亦异于曾子矣。

(derogatory) to speak the language of the southern barbarians or a dialect of southern China


他鄉遇故知

ㄊㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄩˋ ㄍㄨˋ ㄓ

тасян юй гучжи

/tʰä⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ y⁵¹⁻⁵³ ku⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

/tʰaː⁵⁵ hœːŋ⁵⁵ jyː²² kuː³³ t͡siː⁵⁵/

/tʰä⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ y⁵¹⁻⁵³ ku⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

/tʰaː⁵⁵ hœːŋ⁵⁵ jyː²² kuː³³ t͡siː⁵⁵/

There was a 4-verse poem describing things that make people delightful: “Rain after long drought, Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, The candle-lit night in the bridal chamber, And the time when one was admitted in the imperial examination.”

Jiù chuán yǒu shī sì jù, sòng shìrén déyì zhě yún: ‘Jiǔ hàn féng gānyǔ, tāxiāng yù gùzhī, dòngfáng huāzhú yè, jīnbǎng guàmíng shí.

舊傳有詩四句，誦世人得意者云：『久旱逢甘雨，他鄉遇故知，洞房花燭夜，金榜掛名時。

旧传有诗四句，诵世人得意者云：『久旱逢甘雨，他乡遇故知，洞房花烛夜，金榜挂名时。

to meet an old friend in a foreign place


感恩戴德

ㄍㄢˇ ㄣ ㄉㄞˋ ㄉㄜˊ

ганьэньдайдэ

/kän²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀən⁵⁵ taɪ̯⁵¹ tɤ³⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ jɐn⁵⁵ taːi̯³³ tɐk̚⁵/

/kam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ in⁴⁴⁻³³ tai¹¹⁻⁵³ tiɪk̚³²/

/kam⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ in⁴⁴⁻³³ tai²¹⁻⁴¹ tiɪk̚³²/

/kän²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀən⁵⁵ taɪ̯⁵¹ tɤ³⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ jɐn⁵⁵ taːi̯³³ tɐk̚⁵/

/kam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ in⁴⁴⁻³³ tai¹¹⁻⁵³ tiɪk̚³²/

/kam⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ in⁴⁴⁻³³ tai²¹⁻⁴¹ tiɪk̚³²/

to be (deeply) grateful for someone's benevolence or favor


có bệnh thì vái tứ phương

[kɔ˧˦ ʔɓəjŋ̟˧˨ʔ tʰi˨˩ vaːj˧˦ tɨ˧˦ fɨəŋ˧˧]

[kɔ˨˩˦ ʔɓen˨˩ʔ tʰɪj˦˩ vaːj˨˩˦ tɨ˨˩˦ fɨəŋ˧˧]

[kɔ˦˥ ʔɓəːn˨˩˨ tʰɪj˨˩ vaːj˦˥ tɨ˦˥ fɨəŋ˧˧]

[kɔ˦˥ ʔɓəːn˨˩˨ tʰɪj˨˩ jaːj˦˥ tɨ˦˥ fɨəŋ˧˧]

(literal) if you're ill, bow to all four directions

(figurative) if you're ill, seek the cure from every source imaginable, eastern, western or otherwise


五族共和

ㄨˇ ㄗㄨˊ ㄍㄨㄥˋ ㄏㄜˊ

/u²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su³⁵ kʊŋ⁵¹ xɤ³⁵/

/ŋ̍¹³ t͡sʊk̚² kʊŋ²² wɔː²¹/

/u²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su³⁵ kʊŋ⁵¹ xɤ³⁵/

/ŋ̍¹³ t͡sʊk̚² kʊŋ²² wɔː²¹/

(historical) Five Races Under One Union (a slogan used during the early Republic of China era, referring to the harmonious existence under one nation of what were considered the five major ethnic groups in China: the Han, the Manchus, the Mongols, the Uyghurs, and the Tibetans)


手到擒來

ㄕㄡˇ ㄉㄠˋ ㄑㄧㄣˊ ㄌㄞˊ

шоудаоциньлай

/ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ laɪ̯³⁵/

/sɐu̯³⁵ tou̯³³ kʰɐm²¹ lɔːi̯²¹/

/ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tɑʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕʰin³⁵ laɪ̯³⁵/

/sɐu̯³⁵ tou̯³³ kʰɐm²¹ lɔːi̯²¹/

to capture someone or something or do something easily and effortlessly


意義深長

ㄧˋ ㄧˋ ㄕㄣ ㄔㄤˊ

/i⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵/

/i⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹ ʂən⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɑŋ³⁵/

to have profound meanings; to be thought-provoking


ani mě nehne

/ˈʔaɲɪ ˈmɲɛ ˈnɛɦnɛ/

Ani mě nehne se někdy vracet na Kubu.

There is no way I'm ever going back to Cuba.

Byl jsem tu týden po Vánocích a fakt to byla krásná zima, ale připadalo mi to jako skok o třicet let zpátky. Tenkrát jsem mu odpověděl, že je tady sice hezky, ale ani mě nehne, abych tu žil.

I was here a week after Christmas and it was a really beautiful winter, but it felt like I jumped thirty years back in time. At the time, I replied to him that even though it is nice here, there is no way I would live here.

(idiomatic, colloquial, sarcastic) fat chance that; I'll be damned if; no way


憂心如焚

ㄧㄡ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄖㄨˊ ㄈㄣˊ

/joʊ̯⁵⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ ʐu³⁵ fən³⁵/

/jɐu̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ jyː²¹ fɐn²¹/

/joʊ̯⁵⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ ʐu³⁵ fən³⁵/

/jɐu̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ jyː²¹ fɐn²¹/

extremely anxious; extremely worried; burning with anxiety


ถือไม้เท้ายอดทอง กระบองยอดเพชร

th-phrase

ถือไม้เท้ายอดทอง กระบองยอดเพชร • (tʉ̌ʉ-máai-táao-yɔ̂ɔt-tɔɔng-grà-bɔɔng-yɔ̂ɔt-pét)

/tʰɯː˩˩˦.maːj˦˥.tʰaːw˦˥.jɔːt̚˥˩.tʰɔːŋ˧.kra˨˩.bɔːŋ˧.jɔːt̚˥˩.pʰet̚˦˥/

From ถือ (tʉ̌ʉ, “to hold”) + ไม้เท้า (mái-táao, “staff”) + ยอด (yɔ̂ɔt, “top”) + ทอง (tɔɔng, “gold”) + กระบอง (grà-bɔɔng, “cane”) + ยอด (yɔ̂ɔt, “top”) + เพชร (pét, “diamond”); literally, "to hold a staff topped [with] gold, a cane topped [with a] diamond".

com

(idiomatic) an expression used to wish a married couple longevity and prosperity.

en-ถือไม้เท้ายอดทอง_กระบองยอดเพชร-th-phrase-mCirXQQa


isn't it

It's beautiful, isn't it?

(informal) Used to ask the listener for confirmation of or agreement with a statement; right.


請坐

/t͡ɕʰiŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɛːŋ³⁵ t͡sʰɔː¹³/

/t͡sʰɪŋ³⁵ t͡sʰɔː¹³/

/t͡ɕʰiŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɛːŋ³⁵ t͡sʰɔː¹³/

/t͡sʰɪŋ³⁵ t͡sʰɔː¹³/


九曲十三彎

/kɐu̯³⁵ kʰʊk̚⁵ sɐp̚² saːm⁵⁵ waːn⁵⁵/

/kɐu̯³⁵ kʰʊk̚⁵ sɐp̚² saːm⁵⁵ waːn⁵⁵/


有風駛盡𢃇

/jɐu̯¹³ fʊŋ⁵⁵ sɐi̯³⁵ t͡sɵn²² lei̯¹³/

/jɐu̯¹³ fʊŋ⁵⁵ sɐi̯³⁵ t͡sɵn²² lei̯¹³/

(Cantonese) to exploit a favourable opportunity to the full


hậu sinh khả uý

[həw˧˨ʔ sïŋ˧˧ xaː˧˩ ʔwi˧˦]

[həw˨˩ʔ ʂɨn˧˧ kʰaː˧˨ ʔwɪj˨˩˦]

[həw˨˩ʔ sɨn˧˧ xaː˧˨ ʔwɪj˨˩˦]

[həw˨˩˨ ʂɨn˧˧ kʰaː˨˩˦ (ʔ)wɪj˦˥]

[həw˨˩˨ sɨn˧˧ xaː˨˩˦ (ʔ)wɪj˦˥]

Sino-Vietnamese word from 後生可畏, composed of 後生 (“juniors; later generations”) and 可畏 (“scary; formidable”).

vi-etym-sino

(humorous) the later generations are very capable; never underestimate someone younger than you


見風使舵

ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄈㄥ ㄕˇ ㄉㄨㄛˋ

цзяньфэншидо

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ fɤŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ tu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/kiːn³³ fʊŋ⁵⁵ sɐi̯³⁵ tʰɔː²¹/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ fɤŋ⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ tu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/kiːn³³ fʊŋ⁵⁵ sɐi̯³⁵ tʰɔː²¹/

to bend with the wind; to change one's position, attitude, behaviour, etc. depending on the situation (usually with negative connotation)


一時無兩

ㄧ ㄕˊ ㄨˊ ㄌㄧㄤˇ

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ u³⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹ mou̯²¹ lœːŋ¹³/

/i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ u³⁵ li̯ɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jɐt̚⁵ siː²¹ mou̯²¹ lœːŋ¹³/


上得山多終遇虎

to go up the mountain often and eventually run into a tiger

ㄕㄤˋ ˙ㄉㄜ ㄕㄢ ㄉㄨㄛ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄩˋ ㄏㄨˇ

шан дэ шань до чжун юй ху

/ʂɑŋ⁵¹ d̥ə¹ ʂän⁵⁵ tu̯ɔ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵ y⁵¹ xu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/sœːŋ¹³ tɐk̚⁵ saːn⁵⁵ tɔː⁵⁵ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵ jyː²² fuː³⁵/

one that often takes risks to do bad things eventually gets into trouble


藥到病除

ㄧㄠˋ ㄉㄠˋ ㄅㄧㄥˋ ㄔㄨˊ

/jɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ tɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ piŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu³⁵/

/jœːk̚² tou̯³³ pɛːŋ²² t͡sʰɵy̯²¹/

/jœːk̚² tou̯³³ pɪŋ²² t͡sʰɵy̯²¹/

/jɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ tɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ piŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu³⁵/

/jœːk̚² tou̯³³ pɛːŋ²² t͡sʰɵy̯²¹/

/jœːk̚² tou̯³³ pɪŋ²² t͡sʰɵy̯²¹/

one's illness is cured after taking the medicine


一言も無い

一言も無い (canonical)
ichigon mo nai (romanization)

not even one word; to have nothing to say


一言以って之を蔽う

ja-phrase

いちげん もって これ を おお.う

一(いち)言(げん)以(も)って之(これ)を蔽(おお)う • (ichigen motte kore o ōu)

一言以って之を蔽う (canonical)
ichigen motte kore o ōu (romanization)

Calque of Literary Chinese 一言以蔽之 (yīyán yǐ bì zhī).

cal

いちげんもってこれをおおう


orang ketiga

Compound of orang (literally “party”) + ketiga (“third”).
# For grammar and linguistics senses, calque of Dutch derde persoon (“third person”).
# For sense of other man and other woman, probably calque from Chinese 第三者 (dìsānzhě, “the other man, the other women”, literally “third party”).


nigh on

I had been working in this industry for nigh on twelve years when it happened.

“[…]They say he has sold himself to the devil for a pretty face. It’s nigh on eighteen years since I met him. He hasn’t changed much since then. I have, though,” she added, with a sickly leer.

1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter XVI, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC:

I’ve shoveled up the gypsum till it nigh on makes you choke.

1964, Ron Angel (lyrics and music), “The ICI Song”:


błądzić jest rzeczą ludzką

/ˈbwɔɲ.d͡ʑit͡ɕ jɛst ˈʂɛ.t͡ʂɔw̃ ˈlut͡s.kɔw̃/


brak wiadomości to dobra wiadomość

/brak fja.dɔˈmɔɕ.t͡ɕi tɔ ˈdɔb.ra vjaˈdɔ.mɔɕt͡ɕ/

no news is good news
no news is good news


mylić się jest rzeczą ludzką

/ˈmɘ.lit͡ɕ ɕɛ jɛst ˈʂɛ.t͡ʂɔw̃ ˈlut͡s.kɔw̃/


魯般手裡調大斧

ㄌㄨˇ ㄅㄢ ㄕㄡˇ ㄌㄧˇ ㄉㄧㄠˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄈㄨˇ

Lǔ Bān shǒulǐ diào dàfǔ [Phonetic:lǔbānshóulǐdiàodàfǔ]

Лу Бань шоули дяо дафу

/lu²¹⁴⁻²¹ pän⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ ti̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/


以血洗血

→ Japanese: 血で血を洗う (calque)

ㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˋ ㄒㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˋ

ㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˇ ㄒㄧˇ ㄒㄩㄝˇ

ㄧˇ ㄒㄧㄝˇ ㄒㄧˇ ㄒㄧㄝˇ

/i²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹ ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹/

/i²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ɕy̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ɕi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ɕy̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/i²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ɕi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/i²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹ ɕi²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹/

eye for an eye; return violence for violence


百廢待興

ㄅㄞˇ ㄈㄟˋ ㄉㄞˋ ㄒㄧㄥ

байфэйдайсин

/paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ feɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ taɪ̯⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵/

/paːk̚³ fɐi̯³³ tɔːi̯²² hɪŋ⁵⁵/

/paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ feɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ taɪ̯⁵¹ ɕiŋ⁵⁵/

/paːk̚³ fɐi̯³³ tɔːi̯²² hɪŋ⁵⁵/

In the early days after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, China was impoverished, with a great number of things waiting to be rebuilt and tasks to be undertaken.

Xīnzhōngguó chénglì zhī chū, Zhōngguó yīqióng'èrbái, bǎifèidàixīng.

新中國成立之初，中國一窮二白，百廢待興。

新中国成立之初，中国一穷二白，百废待兴。

many abandoned or neglected tasks or projects are waiting to be undertaken


百廢待舉

ㄅㄞˇ ㄈㄟˋ ㄉㄞˋ ㄐㄩˇ

байфэйдайцзюй

/paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ feɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ taɪ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕy²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/paːk̚³ fɐi̯³³ tɔːi̯²² kɵy̯³⁵/

/paːk̚³ fɐi̯³³ tɔːi̯²² kɵy̯³⁵/

百廢待興 百廢待興#Chinese

百废待兴 百废待兴#Chinese

Synonym of 百廢待興／百废待兴 (bǎifèidàixīng, “many abandoned or neglected tasks or projects are waiting to be undertaken”)


如沐春風

ㄖㄨˊ ㄇㄨˋ ㄔㄨㄣ ㄈㄥ

/ʐu³⁵ mu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən⁵⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/jyː²¹ mʊk̚² t͡sʰɵn⁵⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

/ʐu³⁵ mu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰu̯ən⁵⁵ fɤŋ⁵⁵/

/jyː²¹ mʊk̚² t͡sʰɵn⁵⁵ fʊŋ⁵⁵/

to be educated by a great and earnest teacher

to get along with and be influenced by an erudite or virtuous person


what's in a name

Coined by William Shakespeare in 1597 in "Romeo and Juliet," act 2, scene 2:
: What's in a name? That which we call a rose,
: By any other name would smell as sweet.

Used to argue that something's name is arbitrary and does not give any information as to its qualities; the names of things do not affect what they really are.


御用文人

ㄩˋ ㄩㄥˋ ㄨㄣˊ ㄖㄣˊ

юйюнвэньжэнь

/y⁵¹⁻⁵³ jʊŋ⁵¹ wən³⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/jyː²² jʊŋ²² mɐn²¹ jɐn²¹/

/y⁵¹⁻⁵³ jʊŋ⁵¹ wən³⁵ ʐən³⁵/

/jyː²² jʊŋ²² mɐn²¹ jɐn²¹/

(derogatory) writer hired by the ruler or government to sing its praises


now that's what I call

that's what I call
that's what I call#English


that's what I call

That's what I call a party!

(emphatic) Used to express that the thing in question is an ideal example.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see that's, what, I, call.


一期末代

一期末代 (canonical)
ichigomatsudai (romanization)

this world (life) and the next; eternity


疑罪從無

ㄧˊ ㄗㄨㄟˋ ㄘㄨㄥˊ ㄨˊ

/i³⁵ t͡su̯eɪ̯⁵¹ t͡sʰʊŋ³⁵ u³⁵/

/i³⁵ t͡su̯eɪ̯⁵¹ t͡sʰʊŋ³⁵ u³⁵/


一言一句

一言一句 (canonical)
ichigon ikku (romanization)

[it͡ɕiɡo̞ɰ̃ ik̚kɯ̟]

each word and each phrase; word-for-word


식은 죽 먹기

[ɕʰiɡɯn t͡ɕuŋmʌ̹k̚k͈i]

Literally, “eating juk that has cooled down”.

taking candy from a baby
like taking candy from a baby

doing something easily and without hesitation; taking candy from a baby; a piece of cake; a cakewalk


高分低能

ㄍㄠ ㄈㄣ ㄉㄧ ㄋㄥˊ

гаофэньдинэн

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ fən⁵⁵ ti⁵⁵ nɤŋ³⁵/

/kou̯⁵⁵ fɐn⁵⁵ tɐi̯⁵⁵ nɐŋ²¹/

/kɑʊ̯⁵⁵ fən⁵⁵ ti⁵⁵ nɤŋ³⁵/

/kou̯⁵⁵ fɐn⁵⁵ tɐi̯⁵⁵ nɐŋ²¹/

(education, of a student) high in score but low in ability


something is up

(informal) Something off-putting or suspicious is in the air.


玩忽職守

ㄨㄢˊ ㄏㄨ ㄓˊ ㄕㄡˇ

ㄨㄢˋ ㄏㄨ ㄓˊ ㄕㄡˇ

ваньху чжишоу

/wän³⁵ xu⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/wän⁵¹ xu⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/wän³⁵ xu⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/wän⁵¹ xu⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

國家機關工作人員濫用職權或者玩忽職守，致使公共財產、國家和人民利益遭受重大損失的，處三年以下有期徒刑或者拘役；情節特別嚴重的，處三年以上七年以下有期徒刑。 [MSC, trad.]
国家机关工作人员滥用职权或者玩忽职守，致使公共财产、国家和人民利益遭受重大损失的，处三年以下有期徒刑或者拘役；情节特别严重的，处三年以上七年以下有期徒刑。 [MSC, simp.]
Guójiājīguān gōngzuòrényuán lànyòng zhíquán huòzhě wánhūzhíshǒu, zhìshǐ gōnggòng cáichǎn, guójiā hé rénmín lìyì zāoshòu zhòngdà sǔnshī de, chù sān nián yǐxià yǒuqītúxíng huòzhě jūyì; qíngjié tèbié yánzhòng de, chù sān nián yǐshàng qī nián yǐxià yǒuqītúxíng. [Pinyin]

Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 397

Any functionary of a State organ who abuses his power or neglects his duty, thus causing heavy losses to public money or property or the interests of the State and the people, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years.

(Mainland China) to neglect one's duty; to engage in misconduct in public office


童心未泯

ㄊㄨㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄨㄟˋ ㄇㄧㄣˇ

тунсиньвэйминь

/tʰʊŋ³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ weɪ̯⁵¹ min²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/tʰʊŋ³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ weɪ̯⁵¹ min²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

one's childish disposition remains even though he/she is grownup


棄車保帥

(in theXiangqi chess game) to abandon a chariot in order to protect the general

ㄑㄧˋ ㄐㄩ ㄅㄠˇ ㄕㄨㄞˋ

цицзюйбаошуай

/t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ t͡ɕy⁵⁵ pɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂu̯aɪ̯⁵¹/

/hei̯³³ kɵy̯⁵⁵ pou̯³⁵ sɵy̯³³/

/t͡ɕʰi⁵¹ t͡ɕy⁵⁵ pɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂu̯aɪ̯⁵¹/

/hei̯³³ kɵy̯⁵⁵ pou̯³⁵ sɵy̯³³/

to sacrifice something of lesser importance to preserve something crucial


Chúa ơi

[t͡ɕuə˧˦ ʔəːj˧˧]

[t͡ɕuə˨˩˦ ʔəːj˧˧]

[cuə˦˥ ʔəːj˧˧]

Chúa (“Lord”) + ơi (“calling particle”).

trời ơi

God; golly; Jesus Christ; for heaven's sake; oh, heavenly lord


火車未到站

the train has not yet arrived at the station

/fɔː³⁵ t͡sʰɛː⁵⁵ mei̯²² tou̯³³ t͡saːm²²/

/fɔː³⁵ t͡sʰɛː⁵⁵ mei̯²² tou̯³³ t͡saːm²²/

(Cantonese) to have one's trousers unzipped; to have one's fly down


血肉相連

ㄒㄩㄝˋ ㄖㄡˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄌㄧㄢˊ

ㄒㄩㄝˇ ㄖㄡˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄌㄧㄢˊ

ㄒㄧㄝˇ ㄖㄡˋ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄌㄧㄢˊ

сюэжоусянлянь

/ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐoʊ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɕy̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐoʊ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

сежоусянлянь

/ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐoʊ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

/hyːt̚³ jʊk̚² sœːŋ⁵⁵ liːn²¹/

/ɕy̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐoʊ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɕy̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐoʊ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

/ɕi̯ɛ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐoʊ̯⁵¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ li̯ɛn³⁵/

/hyːt̚³ jʊk̚² sœːŋ⁵⁵ liːn²¹/

to be very intimately connected; to be connected by flesh and blood


buy yourself a hat

(dated) Said when offering a monetary bribe.


相見恨晚

ㄒㄧㄤ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄏㄣˋ ㄨㄢˇ

сянцзяньхэньвань

/ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ xən⁵¹ wän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/sœːŋ⁵⁵ kiːn³³ hɐn²² maːn¹³/

/sœːŋ⁵⁵ kiːn³³ hɐn²² maːn¹³/

to regret not having met earlier; if only we had met earlier (used to express the happiness when meeting with someone for the first time)


골로 가다

골로 갈 뻔 했다.

게다가, 전두환이는 처음 듣는 놈이니까 처음부터 이새끼 저새끼 할 수 있어도 박정희대통령은 벌써 골로 간 사람이고 골로 갔으면 욕을 하는 게 아니었다.

1992, 유재현 [yujaehyeon, Yu Jae-hyeon], “구르는 돌 [gureuneun dol, The Rolling Stone]”, in 創(창)作(작)과 批(비)評(평)[Changjak-gwa Bipyeong], volume 20, page 260:

Furthermore, since Chun Doo-hwan was a bastard you were hearing about for the very first time, you could talk about him as "this son of a bitch" and "that son of a bitch" from the very beginning, but President Park Chung-hee was a guy who had already croaked, and if someone had croaked, you weren't supposed to say bad things about them.

공소시효가 15년인데 지금도 조사하면 골로 갈 수 있다

2017 April 11, “홍준표 "文, 盧와 의논했다면 공범…지금도 조사하면 골로 간다"”, in news.sbs.co.kr, Seoul Broadcasting System:

The statute of limitations is up to fifteen years, so even now, if investigations happened, he could get in trouble

gongsosihyo-ga sibo-nyeon-inde jigeum-do josahamyeon gollo gal su itda

(slang, by extension) to be in trouble, to be doomed


敢作敢為

ㄍㄢˇ ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄍㄢˇ ㄨㄟˊ

ганьцзоганьвэй

/kän²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹ kän²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯³⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ kɐm³⁵ wɐi̯²¹/

/kän²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹ kän²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯³⁵/

/kɐm³⁵ t͡sɔːk̚³ kɐm³⁵ wɐi̯²¹/

to act with courage and resolution; to dare to act


一字一珠

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵/


一字一淚

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ leɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡siː²² jɐt̚⁵ lɵy̯²²/

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡sz̩⁵¹ i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ leɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡siː²² jɐt̚⁵ lɵy̯²²/


leave it all on the field

Don't worry about it, just leave it all on the field.

Use the same advice football coaches give their teams: "Always do your best. When you return to the locker room at the end of the game, leave it all on the field. Don't replay what you might have done or what someone else might have done..."

1996, Lucile Wilson, Blanche Woolls, chapter 5, in People Skills for Library Managers: A Common Sense Guide for Beginners, →ISBN, page 56:

(idiomatic, usually sports) Used to remind players not to dwell on minor mistakes, issues or conflicts that happened during the course of play.

Go and give it your all! Leave it all on the field!

But the stakes couldn't be higher, so we've got to leave it all on the field.

2012, Barack Obama, “Administration of Barack Obama, 2012/Sep. 18”, in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Barack Obama: 2012 (Book II: July 1 to December 31, 2012), page 1395:

(idiomatic, often sports) Used to encourage players or anyone to give their best effort, without going away with unused energy.


有說有笑

ㄧㄡˇ ㄕㄨㄛ ㄧㄡˇ ㄒㄧㄠˋ

/joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/jɐu̯¹³ syːt̚³ jɐu̯¹³ siːu̯³³/

/joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/jɐu̯¹³ syːt̚³ jɐu̯¹³ siːu̯³³/


穿針引線

ㄔㄨㄢ ㄓㄣ ㄧㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄢˋ

чуаньчжэньиньсянь

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵ in²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵ t͡sɐm⁵⁵ jɐn¹³ siːn³³/

/ʈ͡ʂʰu̯än⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵ in²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹/

/t͡sʰyːn⁵⁵ t͡sɐm⁵⁵ jɐn¹³ siːn³³/

(figuratively) to act as a go-between; to act as a middleman


加鹽加醋

/kaː⁵⁵ jiːm²¹ kaː⁵⁵ t͡sʰou̯³³/

/kaː⁵⁵ jiːm²¹ kaː⁵⁵ t͡sʰou̯³³/

(Cantonese, figurative) to add colour to (a narration); to exaggerate; to embellish


打完齋唔要和尚

to not want a Buddhist monk after the ritual is finished

/taː³⁵ jyːn²¹ t͡saːi̯⁵⁵ m̩²¹ jiːu̯³³ wɔː²¹ sœːŋ²²⁻³⁵/

to abandon someone after that person has helped to reach a goal


même pas en rêve

/mɛm pɑ ɑ̃ ʁɛv/

LL-Q150 (fra)-LoquaxFR-même pas en rêve.wav

(informal) in your dreams! you wish! not a chance!


過橋抽板

to cross a bridge and take away the planks

ㄍㄨㄛˋ ㄑㄧㄠˊ ㄔㄡ ㄅㄢˇ

гоцяочоубань

/ku̯ɔ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɑʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰoʊ̯⁵⁵ pän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/kʷɔː³³ kʰiːu̯²¹ t͡sʰɐu̯⁵⁵ paːn³⁵/

/kʷɔː³³ kʰiːu̯²¹ t͡sʰɐu̯⁵⁵ paːn³⁵/

to abandon one's benefactor upon achieving one's goal


à votre bon cœur

spare some change? I'm couting on your generosity!


broń Boże

/brɔɲ ˈbɔ.ʐɛ/


je ne vous le fais pas dire

je ne vous le fais pas dire ! (canonical)


奉若神明

ㄈㄥˋ ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

фэнжошэньмин

/fɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂən³⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/fʊŋ²² jœːk̚² sɐn²¹ mɪŋ²¹/

/fɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂən³⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/fʊŋ²² jœːk̚² sɐn²¹ mɪŋ²¹/

to worship or revere someone or something as if they are a deity


逕啟者

ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄑㄧˇ ㄓㄜˇ

/t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

An expression used at the beginning of a letter when the author skips greetings and gets straight to the point


BNPL

(retail) Initialism of buy now, pay later.


suy ra

[ʂwɪj˧˧ ʐaː˧˧]

[swɪj˧˧ ʐaː˧˧]

[ʂ⁽ʷ⁾ɪj˧˧ ɹaː˧˧]

[s⁽ʷ⁾ɪj˧˧ ɹaː˧˧]

(mathematics) which implies that; which means that; it follows that; ⇒


DNLM

/tiːu̯³⁵ nei̯¹³ lou̯¹³ mou̯¹³⁻³⁵/

/tiːu̯³⁵ nei̯¹³ lou̯¹³ mou̯¹³⁻³⁵/

屌你老母 屌你老母#Chinese

(vulgar, slang, leetspeak) Short for 屌你老母 (“fuck your mother; fuck you”).


DLLM

/tiːu̯³⁵ nei̯¹³ lou̯¹³ mou̯¹³⁻³⁵/

/tiː⁵⁵ ɛːu̯⁵⁵ ɛːu̯⁵⁵ ɛːm⁵⁵/

/tiːu̯³⁵ nei̯¹³ lou̯¹³ mou̯¹³⁻³⁵/

/tiː⁵⁵ ɛːu̯⁵⁵ ɛːu̯⁵⁵ ɛːm⁵⁵/

(Cantonese, vulgar, slang, leetspeak) Initialism of 屌你老母 (diu² nei⁵ lou⁵ mou⁵⁻², “fuck your mother; fuck you”).


事後諸葛

ㄕˋ ㄏㄡˋ ㄓㄨ ㄍㄜˇ

ㄕˋ ㄏㄡˋ ㄓㄨ ㄍㄜˊ

/ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ xoʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ kɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ xoʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ kɤ³⁵/

/ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ xoʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ kɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ xoʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ kɤ³⁵/

事後諸葛亮 事後諸葛亮#Chinese

事后诸葛亮 事后诸葛亮#Chinese

twenty-twenty hindsight
twenty-twenty hindsight

Synonym of 事後諸葛亮／事后诸葛亮 (shìhòu Zhūgě Liàng, “expert in hindsight; twenty-twenty hindsight; to have pseudo-intellectual opinion after the fact but not before”)


劉備借荊州——一借冇回頭

head

劉備借荊州——一借冇回頭

刘备借荆州——一借冇回头

/lɐu̯²¹ pei̯²²⁻³⁵ t͡sɛː³³ kɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵ jɐt̚⁵ t͡sɛː³³ mou̯¹³ wuːi̯²¹ tʰɐu̯²¹/

(Cantonese) something borrowed will not be returned


чем хуже, тем лучше

чем ху́же, тем лу́чше

чем ху́же, тем лу́чше • (čem xúže, tem lúčše)

чем ху́же (canonical)
тем лу́чше (canonical)
čem xúže (romanization)
tem lúčše (romanization)


the half of it

(idiomatic, informal, chiefly in the negative) Only a part of something; not the full picture. Typically it is implied to be the most important part.


劉備借荊州——有借無還

ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄅㄟˋ ㄐㄧㄝˋ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄓㄡ

ㄧㄡˇ ㄐㄧㄝˋ ㄨˊ ㄏㄨㄢˊ

Лю Бэй цзе Цзинчжоу

ю цзе у хуань

/li̯oʊ̯³⁵ peɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ u³⁵ xu̯än³⁵/

From the plot of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where Liu Bei asked Sun Quan to lend Jingzhou to him, but Liu refused to return Sun's land when asked to.

Liu Bei borrowing Jingzhou - borrowing without returning

Liu Bei
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Sun Quan


мене звати

мене́ зва́ти ...

мене́ зва́ти ... (canonical)
mené zváty ... (romanization)

Uk-Мене звати.ogg

Мене́ зва́ти Стефа́н.


ce n'est pas demain la veille

ce n’ est pas demain la veille (canonical)

c’est pas demain la veille
c'est pas demain la veille#French

Alternative form of c’est pas demain la veille


c'est pas demain la veille

don't hold your breath
don't hold your breath

(informal) that'll be the day! don't hold your breath!


alpha fucks, beta bucks

Be the guy who's large and in charge because alpha fucks, beta bucks yo.

2018, Jennifer Wright, Why Incels Hate Women (from Harper's Bazaar Web site); quoted in: 2020, John Casperson, What If God Has a Vagina?: Why Eve Took the Rap
Alphas are supposedly men who trigger lust in women, because women settle down with betas only because they offer financial stability. Or, as they pithily term it “alpha fucks, beta bucks.” When you look at the men who are labeled alphas and betas, though, you'll notice it gets weird in a way that might surprise you if you are a woman or a normal human.

This gets into the Alpha-fucks-beta-bucks concept discussed in the previous chapter. As soon as you get to know a girl, she has designated you either as a nice guy who can provide emotional and (possibly) financial support, but isn't attractive to have sex with, or an Alpha whose clear purpose is only for sex but can't be trusted for anything else.

2019, Adam Glasier, Online Dating For Men 101: How to Find, Date, Attract, Connect, and Get Into Great Relationships with Women from Online Dating:

The following, according to popular belief across the manosphere, is the dual biological imperative of what women are attracted to:
1. physical attraction (genes)
2. life comforts (resources)
When writers in the manosphere discuss “Alpha Fucks, Beta Bucks” this is essentially the dynamic they are referring too^([sic]).

2019, Dr. Lukas Castle, The Blackpill Theory: why incels are right & you are wrong, page 155:

(vulgar, slang) Women prefer sex with alpha males but are willing to use beta males as a source of financial support.

альхва ябе, а бэта грошы дае

Women see alpha males as sexual partners, while beta males merely as source of money


pas un pour rattraper l'autre

pas un pour rattraper l’ autre (canonical)

Literally, “[there's] not one to redeem the others”.

lit

(informal, of people) each is as bad as the other, they/you are all uniformly bad, they/you are all a worthless, incorrigible bunch


no picnic

Her childhood had not been as bad as some, but it had been no picnic.

1999, David Foster Wallace, “Suicide as a Sort of Present”, in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Little, Brown and Company:

(informal) Something difficult or unpleasant.


엎친 데 덮치다

[ʌ̹p̚t͡ɕʰin te̞ tʌ̹p̚t͡ɕʰida̠]

add insult to injury
add insult to injury

it never rains but it pours
it never rains but it pours

(for something) to make matters worse/add insult to injury; for one bad event/misfortune to follow another; it never rains but it pours


luar negeri

Compound of luar (“foreign”, literally “outside”) + negeri (“country, land”). Compare to Dutch buitenland, Chinese 外國／外国 (wàiguó).

zh-l

外國／外国 (wàiguó)

foreign: located outside a country or place, especially one's own; relating to a different nation.


人亡政息

ㄖㄣˊ ㄨㄤˊ ㄓㄥˋ ㄒㄧ

ㄖㄣˊ ㄨㄤˊ ㄓㄥˋ ㄒㄧˊ

жэньванчжэнси

/ʐən³⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵¹ ɕi⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵¹ ɕi³⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵¹ ɕi⁵⁵/

/ʐən³⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵¹ ɕi³⁵/

From the Doctrine of the Mean (《中庸》) in the Book of Rites

The Duke Ai asked about government. The Master said, "The government of Wen and Wu is displayed in the records - the tablets of wood and bamboo. Let there be the men and the government will flourish; but without the men, their government decays and ceases. […]

The Book of Rites, c. 4ᵗʰ – 2ⁿᵈ century BCE

Āi Gōng wèn zhèng. Zǐyuē: “Wén, Wǔ zhī zhèng, bù zài fāng cè, qí rén cún, zé qí zhèng jǔ; qí rén wáng, zé qí zhèng xī.......

哀公問政。子曰：「文、武之政，布在方策，其人存，則其政舉；其人亡，則其政息。……

哀公问政。子曰：「文、武之政，布在方策，其人存，则其政举；其人亡，则其政息。……

a person in power dies or leaves office and his or her policies are abandoned

Book of Rites
King Wen of Zhou
King Wu of Zhou


按鬧分配

ㄢˋ ㄋㄠˋ ㄈㄣ ㄆㄟˋ

аньнаофэньпэй

/ˀän⁵¹⁻⁵³ nɑʊ̯⁵¹ fən⁵⁵ pʰeɪ̯⁵¹/

/ˀän⁵¹⁻⁵³ nɑʊ̯⁵¹ fən⁵⁵ pʰeɪ̯⁵¹/

distribution according to who is the noisiest or causes the most disturbance


胸無城府

ㄒㄩㄥ ㄨˊ ㄔㄥˊ ㄈㄨˇ

/ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵ u³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ mou̯²¹ sɪŋ²¹ fuː³⁵/

/ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵ u³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ fu²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ mou̯²¹ sɪŋ²¹ fuː³⁵/

to be frank and sincere and not scheming


third time is the charm

third time's a charm
third time's a charm#English

Alternative form of third time's a charm


where someone is coming from

I don't entirely agree, but I can see where you are coming from.

(informal) The reasonable, but possibly incorrect, motivations or premises to someone's argument.


鼻哥窿擔遮——避無可避

/pei̯²² kɔː⁵⁵ lʊŋ²¹⁻⁵⁵ taːm⁵⁵ t͡sɛː⁵⁵ pei̯²² mou̯²¹ hɔː³⁵ pei̯²²/

避無可避／避无可避 (“to have nowhere to hide”) is homophonous to 鼻毛可避 (“nose hairs can hide”).

the nostril holds an umbrella—to have nowhere to hide

(Cantonese) to have nowhere to flee or hide


大吵大鬧

ㄉㄚˋ ㄔㄠˇ ㄉㄚˋ ㄋㄠˋ

/tä⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ nɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/taːi̯²² t͡sʰaːu̯³⁵ taːi̯²² naːu̯²²/

/tä⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ nɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/taːi̯²² t͡sʰaːu̯³⁵ taːi̯²² naːu̯²²/

to create a noisy disturbance; to kick up a fuss; to make a scene


借花獻佛

ㄐㄧㄝˋ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄢˋ ㄈㄛˊ

цзехуасяньфо

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ xu̯ä⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ fu̯ɔ³⁵/

/t͡sɛː³³ faː⁵⁵ hiːn³³ fɐt̚²/

/t͡siɤ(ʔ)³²⁻⁴¹ hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hiɛn²¹⁻⁴¹ put̚⁴/

/t͡sio(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ hue⁴⁴⁻³³ hiɛn¹¹⁻⁵³ put̚⁴/

/t͡sio(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ hue⁴⁴⁻²² hiɛn²¹⁻⁵³ put̚⁴/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ xu̯ä⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ fu̯ɔ³⁵/

/t͡sɛː³³ faː⁵⁵ hiːn³³ fɐt̚²/

to offer something that one has received (as a gift, favour, etc.) to someone else


水洗都唔清

cannot wash oneself clean even with water

/sɵy̯³⁵ sɐi̯³⁵ tou̯⁵⁵ m̩²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵/

/sɵy̯³⁵ sɐi̯³⁵ tou̯⁵⁵ m̩²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵/

(Cantonese) to have a wrongful accusation that is unable to be got rid of


孫悟空大鬧天宮——慌了神

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孫悟空大鬧天宮——慌了神

孙悟空大闹天宫——慌了神

the Monkey King wreaks havoc in the heavenly palace—causing the gods to be flustered (to be disoriented and confused)

ㄙㄨㄣ ㄨˋ ㄎㄨㄥ ㄉㄚˋ ㄋㄠˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄍㄨㄥ

Сунь Укун да нао тяньгун

хуан лэ шэнь

/su̯ən⁵⁵ u⁵¹ kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ nɑʊ̯⁵¹ tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ kʊŋ⁵⁵ xu̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ lə² ʂən³⁵/

to be disoriented and confused after experiencing shock


借花敬佛

ㄐㄧㄝˋ ㄏㄨㄚ ㄐㄧㄥˋ ㄈㄛˊ

цзехуацзинфо

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ xu̯ä⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ fu̯ɔ³⁵/

/t͡sɛː³³ faː⁵⁵ kɪŋ³³ fɐt̚²/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛ⁵¹ xu̯ä⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹ fu̯ɔ³⁵/

/t͡sɛː³³ faː⁵⁵ kɪŋ³³ fɐt̚²/

(chiefly Cantonese) to offer something that one has received (as a gift, favour, etc.) to someone else


冇得傾

/mou̯¹³ tɐk̚⁵ kʰɪŋ⁵⁵/

/mou̯¹³ tɐk̚⁵ kʰɪŋ⁵⁵/

(Cantonese) non-negotiable, not up for discussion


乘人之危

ㄔㄥˊ ㄖㄣˊ ㄓ ㄨㄟ

ㄔㄥˊ ㄖㄣˊ ㄓ ㄨㄟˊ

чэнжэньчживэй

čɛnžɛnʹčživɛj

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯³⁵/

/sɪŋ²¹ jɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ ŋɐi̯²¹/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʐən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯³⁵/

/sɪŋ²¹ jɐn²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ ŋɐi̯²¹/

to exploit someone's difficulties or precarious situation


ikkje berre-berre

ikkje berre berre
ikkje berre berre#Norwegian_Nynorsk

alternative spelling of ikkje berre berre


ikkje berre berre

Det er ikkje berre berre å flytte til eit anna land

It's not easy to move to another country.

(colloquial, predicative) difficult, arduous, hard, not easy


輕車熟路

ㄑㄧㄥ ㄔㄜ ㄕㄨˊ ㄌㄨˋ

ㄑㄧㄥ ㄔㄜ ㄕㄡˊ ㄌㄨˋ

ㄑㄧㄥ ㄐㄩ ㄕㄨˊ ㄌㄨˋ

/t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵⁵ ʂu³⁵ lu⁵¹/

/t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯³⁵ lu⁵¹/

/t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕy⁵⁵ ʂu³⁵ lu⁵¹/

/hɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰɛː⁵⁵ sʊk̚² lou̯²²/

/t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵⁵ ʂu³⁵ lu⁵¹/

/t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯³⁵ lu⁵¹/

/t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕy⁵⁵ ʂu³⁵ lu⁵¹/

/hɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰɛː⁵⁵ sʊk̚² lou̯²²/

to perform a task with which one is very familiar with great ease


翻臉不認人

ㄈㄢ ㄌㄧㄢˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄖㄣˋ ㄖㄣˊ

fānliǎn bù rèn rén [Phonetic:fānliǎn bú rèn rén]

фаньлянь бу жэнь жэнь

/fän⁵⁵ li̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ʐən⁵¹ ʐən³⁵/

/faːn⁵⁵ liːm¹³ pɐt̚⁵ jɪŋ²² jɐn²¹/

/fän⁵⁵ li̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ ʐən⁵¹ ʐən³⁵/

/faːn⁵⁵ liːm¹³ pɐt̚⁵ jɪŋ²² jɐn²¹/

to do an about-face and become hostile or cold to someone


閻羅王打交——鬼打鬼

/jiːm²¹ lɔː²¹ wɔːŋ²¹ taː³⁵ kaːu̯⁵⁵ kʷɐi̯³⁵ taː³⁵ kʷɐi̯³⁵/


成吉思汗打仔——大汗𢱕細汗

成吉思汗打仔——大汗𢱕細汗

成吉思汗打仔——大汗𢱕细汗

Genghis Khan hits his son—the big khan beats up the small khan (big sweat drips on small sweat)

/sɪŋ²¹ kɐt̚⁵ siː⁵⁵ hɔːn²¹ taː³⁵ t͡sɐi̯³⁵ taːi̯²² hɔːn²² tɐp̚² sɐi̯³³ hɔːn²²/


冇牙佬飲湯——無齒下流

/mou̯¹³ ŋaː²¹ lou̯³⁵ jɐm³⁵ tʰɔːŋ⁵⁵ mou̯²¹ t͡sʰiː³⁵ haː²² lɐu̯²¹/

無齒下流/无齿下流 (“no teeth [so the soup] flows down”) is homophonous to 無恥下流/无耻下流 (“to be shameless and vulgar”).

zh-l

a toothless man drinks soup–no teeth [so the soup] flows down

(Cantonese) to be vulgar and know no shame


ihminen on ihmiselle susi

man is a wolf to man
man is a wolf to man

man is a wolf to man (what wolf is to other animals, man is to another man)


ما المسؤول بأعلم من السائل

head

مَا الْمَسْؤُولُ بِأَعْلَمَ مِنَ السَّائِلِ • (mā l-masʔūlu biʔaʕlama mina s-sāʔili)

mā l-masʔūlu biʔaʕlama mina s-sāʔili (romanization)

your guess is as good as mine
your guess is as good as mine

I don't know, your guess is as good as mine (literally, "the asked knows no better than the asker")

en-ما_المسؤول_بأعلم_من_السائل-ar-phrase-Ck7McH2L


工於心計

ㄍㄨㄥ ㄩˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄐㄧˋ

гунъюйсиньцзи

/kʊŋ⁵⁵ y³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹/

/kʊŋ⁵⁵ jyː⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ kɐi̯³³/

/kʊŋ⁵⁵ y³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵¹/

/kʊŋ⁵⁵ jyː⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ kɐi̯³³/

scheming; calculating; adept at scheming


慷慨就義

ㄎㄤ ㄎㄞˇ ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄧˋ

/kʰɑŋ⁵⁵ kʰaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹/

/hɔːŋ³⁵ kʰɔːi̯³³ t͡sɐu̯²² jiː²²/

/kʰɑŋ⁵⁵ kʰaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵¹/

/hɔːŋ³⁵ kʰɔːi̯³³ t͡sɐu̯²² jiː²²/

to valiantly lay down one's life for a just cause; to die a martyr


where I come from

It might look odd to you, but that's how they do it where I come from.

(literal) Used to indicate that a certain expression, custom, etc. is characteristic of the speaker's place of origin.

Where I come from, 52% is a majority.

(humorous) Used to indicate that a certain conclusion should be obvious.


GBU

→ Indonesian: GBU

(Internet slang) Abbreviation of God bless you.


作惡多端

ㄗㄨㄛˋ ㄜˋ ㄉㄨㄛ ㄉㄨㄢ

/t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ˀɤ⁵¹ tu̯ɔ⁵⁵ tu̯än⁵⁵/

/t͡sɔːk̚³ ɔːk̚³ tɔː⁵⁵ tyːn⁵⁵/

/t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ˀɤ⁵¹ tu̯ɔ⁵⁵ tu̯än⁵⁵/

/t͡sɔːk̚³ ɔːk̚³ tɔː⁵⁵ tyːn⁵⁵/

to have done a great number of evil deeds


死不足惜

ㄙˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄨˊ ㄒㄧ

ㄙˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄨˊ ㄒㄧˊ

/sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡su³⁵ ɕi⁵⁵/

/sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡su³⁵ ɕi³⁵/

/sei̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵ sɪk̚⁵/

/sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡su³⁵ ɕi⁵⁵/

/sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ t͡su³⁵ ɕi³⁵/

/sei̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵ sɪk̚⁵/

one's death is not or will not be regrettable; one's death is not or will not be a cause for regret


狼心狗肺

ㄌㄤˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄍㄡˇ ㄈㄟˋ

лансиньгоуфэй

/lɑŋ³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ koʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ feɪ̯⁵¹/

/lɔːŋ²¹ sɐm⁵⁵ kɐu̯³⁵ fɐi̯³³/

/lɔŋ²⁴⁻²² sim⁴⁴⁻²² kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hi²¹/

/lɔŋ²⁴⁻²² sim³³ kau⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ hi⁴¹/

/lɔŋ¹³⁻²² sim⁴⁴⁻²² kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hi²¹/

/lɔŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ sim⁴⁴⁻³³ kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hi¹¹/

/lɔŋ²³⁻³³ sim⁴⁴⁻³³ kau⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hi²¹/

/lɑŋ³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ koʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ feɪ̯⁵¹/

/lɔːŋ²¹ sɐm⁵⁵ kɐu̯³⁵ fɐi̯³³/

/lɔŋ²⁴⁻²² sim⁴⁴⁻²² kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hi²¹/

/lɔŋ²⁴⁻²² sim³³ kau⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ hi⁴¹/

/lɔŋ¹³⁻²² sim⁴⁴⁻²² kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hi²¹/

/lɔŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ sim⁴⁴⁻³³ kau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ hi¹¹/

/lɔŋ²³⁻³³ sim⁴⁴⁻³³ kau⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ hi²¹/

biting the hand that feeds one
bite the hand that feeds one

ungrateful; biting the hand that feeds one


keep it simple, stupid

Simplicity should be a key aspect in design; don't overcomplicate something.

pourquoi faire compliqué quand on peut faire simple


demure as a whore at a christening

as demure as an old whore at a christening


YHM

(Internet slang) Initialism of you have mail.


thoughts and prayers

Shortened from phrases like "the victims will be in our thoughts and prayers".

(US) Used by officials and celebrities in the US as a condolence after a tragic event.


the oldest trick in the book

A method of deception that has been used many times before and should therefore be well-known.


瞠目結舌

ㄔㄥ ㄇㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ ㄕㄜˊ

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ⁵⁵ mu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵ ʂɤ³⁵/

/t͡sʰaːŋ⁵⁵ mʊk̚² kiːt̚³ siːt̚²/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ⁵⁵ mu⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵ ʂɤ³⁵/

/t͡sʰaːŋ⁵⁵ mʊk̚² kiːt̚³ siːt̚²/

to be stunned; to be shocked; to be struck dumb

to be embarrassed; to be in an awkward position


手無縛雞之力

one's hands lack the strength needed to truss a chicken

ㄕㄡˇ ㄨˊ ㄈㄨˊ ㄐㄧ ㄓ ㄌㄧˋ

шоу у фу цзи чжи ли

/ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ u³⁵ fu³⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ li⁵¹/

/sɐu̯³⁵ mou̯²¹ pɔːk̚³ kɐi̯⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ lɪk̚²/

to be very weak and lacking physical strength


cho làidir ri CùChulainn

cho làidir ri Cù-Chulainn#Scottish_Gaelic

Alternative form of cho làidir ri Cù-Chulainn


文弱書生

ㄨㄣˊ ㄖㄨㄛˋ ㄕㄨ ㄕㄥ

/wən³⁵ ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂu⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/

/mɐn²¹ jœːk̚² syː⁵⁵ sɐŋ⁵⁵/

/wən³⁵ ʐu̯ɔ⁵¹ ʂu⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/

/mɐn²¹ jœːk̚² syː⁵⁵ sɐŋ⁵⁵/

scholar or intellectual who is gentle and frail


contrary to popular belief

Contrary to popular belief, Columbus was not the first person to discover America.

I regularly have cause to recall a scene from a novel called Madder Music, by Peter de Vries, in which the main character, a writer who specialises in polo, hears a match announcer telling newcomers to the ground that, contrary to popular belief, the ball is struck with the side of the mallet, rather than the end.

2016 September 13, Tim Dowling, “Order force: the old grammar rule we all obey without realising”, in The Guardian:

In opposition to what most laypeople would think is true.


志大才疏

ㄓˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄘㄞˊ ㄕㄨ

/ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ ʂu⁵⁵/

/t͡siː³³ taːi̯²² t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ sɔː⁵⁵/

/ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹ t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ ʂu⁵⁵/

/t͡siː³³ taːi̯²² t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ sɔː⁵⁵/

to have great ambitions but little talent or ability


こちらこそありがとうございます

ja-pos

こちらこそ ありがとう ございます

こちらこそありがとうございます • (kochirakoso arigatō gozaimasu)

kochirakoso arigatō gozaimasu (romanization)

Compound of こちらこそ + ありがとうございます, literally, “it is I who should be thankful”.

com

こちらこそ + ありがとうございます


can't complain

German: How are things? Dutchman: Can't complain, how are things with you?

1940 May 14, The Muswellbrook Chronicle, Muswellbrook, NSW, page 5:

I have nothing to complain about; everything is okay with me.


惶恐不安

ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄢ

хуанкунбу’ань

/xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ ˀän⁵⁵/

/wɔːŋ²¹ hʊŋ³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ ɔːn⁵⁵/

/xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ ˀän⁵⁵/

/wɔːŋ²¹ hʊŋ³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ ɔːn⁵⁵/

to be terrified and very anxious; to be panicky


字字珠璣

цзыцзычжуцзи

/t͡sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sz̩⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/

/t͡siː²² t͡siː²² t͡syː⁵⁵ kei̯⁵⁵/

/t͡sz̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sz̩⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/

/t͡siː²² t͡siː²² t͡syː⁵⁵ kei̯⁵⁵/

(of the language of a piece of writing or speech) beautiful and exquisite


誠惶誠恐

ㄔㄥˊ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄔㄥˊ ㄎㄨㄥˇ

чэнхуанчэнкун

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/sɪŋ²¹ wɔːŋ²¹ sɪŋ²¹ hʊŋ³⁵/

/sɪŋ²¹ wɔːŋ²¹ sɪŋ²¹ hʊŋ³⁵/

(honorific) in fear and trepidation; with fear and reverence (expression used in an official's report to the emperor)

so cautious that one is very terrified and anxious


一等洋人二等官，三等少民四等漢

head

一等洋人二等官，三等少民四等漢

一等洋人二等官，三等少民四等汉

ㄧ ㄉㄥˇ ㄧㄤˊ ㄖㄣˊ ㄦˋ ㄉㄥˇ ㄍㄨㄢ

ㄙㄢ ㄉㄥˇ ㄕㄠˇ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄙˋ ㄉㄥˇ ㄏㄢˋ

sānděng shǎomín sìděng Hàn [Phonetic:yīděngyángrénèrděngguān

идэн янжэнь эрдэн гуань

саньдэн шаоминь сыдэн Хань

/i⁵⁵ tɤŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑŋ³⁵ ʐən³⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ tɤŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ku̯än⁵⁵ sän⁵⁵ tɤŋ²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ min³⁵ sz̩⁵¹ tɤŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ xän⁵¹/

In Communist China, foreigners enjoy the highest status and the best treatment, followed by government officials, then by ethnic minorities and lastly by Han Chinese (which enjoy the lowest status and worst treatment).


je ne te dis pas

(informal) and that's not the half of it!


not to be outdone

Anticipating and preparing against the possibility that someone might outdo one; taking special measures to ensure one cannot be one-upped or outmaneuvered.


優勝劣汰

ㄧㄡ ㄕㄥˋ ㄌㄧㄝˋ ㄊㄞˋ

/joʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ li̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰaɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐu̯⁵⁵ sɪŋ³³ lyːt̚³ tʰaːi̯³³/

/joʊ̯⁵⁵ ʂɤŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ li̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ tʰaɪ̯⁵¹/

/jɐu̯⁵⁵ sɪŋ³³ lyːt̚³ tʰaːi̯³³/

survival of the fittest
survival of the fittest

the superior win and remain and the inferior is eliminated; survival of the fittest


à toute heure

LL-Q150 (fra)-LoquaxFR-à toute heure.wav


à une prochaine

(informal) Alternative form of à la prochaine


雄才大略

ㄒㄩㄥˊ ㄘㄞˊ ㄉㄚˋ ㄌㄩㄝˋ

/ɕi̯ʊŋ³⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ly̯ɛ⁵¹/

/hʊŋ²¹ t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ taːi̯²² lœːk̚²/

/ɕi̯ʊŋ³⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ly̯ɛ⁵¹/

/hʊŋ²¹ t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ taːi̯²² lœːk̚²/

to have outstanding ability and great strategy


pilkka osuu omaan nilkkaan

the chickens come home to roost
the chickens come home to roost

(idiomatic) the chickens come home to roost; when one's mockery of something backfires and leads to unwanted consequences for them


財雄勢大

ㄘㄞˊ ㄒㄩㄥˊ ㄕˋ ㄉㄚˋ

/t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ ɕi̯ʊŋ³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ hʊŋ²¹ sɐi̯³³ taːi̯²²/

/t͡sʰaɪ̯³⁵ ɕi̯ʊŋ³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹/

/t͡sʰɔːi̯²¹ hʊŋ²¹ sɐi̯³³ taːi̯²²/

(Hong Kong) to have massive wealth and great power and influence


one's last

Possibly ellipsis of breathe one's last.


口吐珠璣

ㄎㄡˇ ㄊㄨˇ ㄓㄨ ㄐㄧ

/kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/

/kʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/


滿腹珠璣

ㄇㄢˇ ㄈㄨˋ ㄓㄨ ㄐㄧ

маньфучжуцзи

/män²¹⁴⁻²¹ fu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/

/män²¹⁴⁻²¹ fu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/


恐懼不安

ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄐㄩˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄢ

кунцзюйбу’ань

/kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕy⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ ˀän⁵⁵/

/hʊŋ³⁵ kɵy̯²² pɐt̚⁵ ɔːn⁵⁵/

/kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕy⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ ˀän⁵⁵/

/hʊŋ³⁵ kɵy̯²² pɐt̚⁵ ɔːn⁵⁵/


恐惶悚懼

ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄙㄨㄥˇ ㄐㄩˋ

кунхуансунцзюй

/kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ sʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕy⁵¹/

/hʊŋ³⁵ wɔːŋ²¹ sʊŋ³⁵ kɵy̯²²/

/kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵ sʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕy⁵¹/

/hʊŋ³⁵ wɔːŋ²¹ sʊŋ³⁵ kɵy̯²²/


臨死不恐

ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄙˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄨㄥˇ

/lin³⁵ sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/lɐm²¹ sei̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ hʊŋ³⁵/

/lin³⁵ sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/lɐm²¹ sei̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ hʊŋ³⁵/

to have no fear even when faced with death; to be courageous and determined


臨難不懼

ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄋㄢˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄐㄩˋ

линьнаньбуцзюй

/lin³⁵ nän⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕy⁵¹/

/lɐm²¹ naːn²² pɐt̚⁵ kɵy̯²²/

/lin³⁵ nän⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ t͡ɕy⁵¹/

/lɐm²¹ naːn²² pɐt̚⁵ kɵy̯²²/

臨難不恐 臨難不恐#Chinese

临难不恐 临难不恐#Chinese

Synonym of 臨難不恐／临难不恐 (línnànbùkǒng, “to have no fear when faced with calamity”)


家無擔石

ㄐㄧㄚ ㄨˊ ㄉㄢˋ ㄕˊ

/t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ u³⁵ tän⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ä⁵⁵ u³⁵ tän⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

to have very little food left; to have poverty-stricken


擔驚受怕

ㄉㄢ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄕㄡˋ ㄆㄚˋ

даньцзиншоупа

/tän⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pʰä⁵¹/

/taːm⁵⁵ kɛːŋ⁵⁵ sɐu̯²² pʰaː³³/

/tän⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pʰä⁵¹/

/taːm⁵⁵ kɛːŋ⁵⁵ sɐu̯²² pʰaː³³/

to feel anxious and afraid; to be apprehensive


擔驚受恐

ㄉㄢ ㄐㄧㄥ ㄕㄡˋ ㄎㄨㄥˇ

даньцзиншоукун

/tän⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯⁵¹ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/tän⁵⁵ t͡ɕiŋ⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯⁵¹ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

擔驚受怕 擔驚受怕#Chinese

担惊受怕 担惊受怕#Chinese

Synonym of 擔驚受怕／担惊受怕 (dānjīngshòupà, “to feel anxious and afraid; to be apprehensive”)


孤身隻影

/ku⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ iŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/kuː⁵⁵ sɐn⁵⁵ t͡sɛːk̚³ jɪŋ³⁵/

/ku⁵⁵ ʂən⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ iŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/kuː⁵⁵ sɐn⁵⁵ t͡sɛːk̚³ jɪŋ³⁵/


誠恐誠惶

ㄔㄥˊ ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄔㄥˊ ㄏㄨㄤˊ

чэнкунчэнхуан

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/sɪŋ²¹ hʊŋ³⁵ sɪŋ²¹ wɔːŋ²¹/

/ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ xu̯ɑŋ³⁵/

/sɪŋ²¹ hʊŋ³⁵ sɪŋ²¹ wɔːŋ²¹/


亙古未有

ㄍㄣˋ ㄍㄨˇ ㄨㄟˋ ㄧㄡˇ

/kən⁵¹ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯⁵¹ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/kɐŋ³⁵ kuː³⁵ mei̯²² jɐu̯¹³/

/kən⁵¹ ku²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯⁵¹ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/kɐŋ³⁵ kuː³⁵ mei̯²² jɐu̯¹³/

unprecedented; unheard of; to have never ever occurred


恐後爭先

ㄎㄨㄥˇ ㄏㄡˋ ㄓㄥ ㄒㄧㄢ

кунхоучжэнсянь

/kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ xoʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/hʊŋ³⁵ hɐu̯²² t͡sɐŋ⁵⁵ siːn⁵⁵/

/kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ xoʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵/

/hʊŋ³⁵ hɐu̯²² t͡sɐŋ⁵⁵ siːn⁵⁵/

爭先恐後 爭先恐後#Chinese

争先恐后 争先恐后#Chinese

Synonym of 爭先恐後／争先恐后 (zhēngxiānkǒnghòu, “to vie to be first and fear to be last”)


臨難不恐

ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄋㄢˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄨㄥˇ

линьнаньбукун

/lin³⁵ nän⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/lɐm²¹ naːn²² pɐt̚⁵ hʊŋ³⁵/

/lin³⁵ nän⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ kʰʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/lɐm²¹ naːn²² pɐt̚⁵ hʊŋ³⁵/

to have no fear when faced with calamity


珠璣咳唾

ㄓㄨ ㄐㄧ ㄎㄜˊ ㄊㄨㄛˋ

/ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰɤ³⁵ tʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/ʈ͡ʂu⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵ kʰɤ³⁵ tʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

to speak or write words of excellent literary style


左鄰右里

ㄗㄨㄛˇ ㄌㄧㄣˊ ㄧㄡˋ ㄌㄧˇ

/t͡su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ lin³⁵ joʊ̯⁵¹ li²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/t͡sɔː³⁵ lɵn²¹ jɐu̯²² lei̯¹³/

/t͡su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ lin³⁵ joʊ̯⁵¹ li²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/t͡sɔː³⁵ lɵn²¹ jɐu̯²² lei̯¹³/


電閃雷鳴

ㄉㄧㄢˋ ㄕㄢˇ ㄌㄟˊ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

дяньшаньлэймин

/ti̯ɛn⁵¹ ʂän²¹⁴⁻²¹ leɪ̯³⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/ti̯ɛn⁵¹ ʂän²¹⁴⁻²¹ leɪ̯³⁵ miŋ³⁵/


紅顏薄命

CJKV/code

Sino-Xenic (紅顏薄命):
* → Vietnamese: hồng nhan bạc mệnh (紅顏薄命)

ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄅㄛˊ ㄇㄧㄥˋ

хунъяньбомин

/xʊŋ³⁵ jɛn³⁵ pu̯ɔ³⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/hʊŋ²¹ ŋaːn²¹ pɔːk̚² mɪŋ²²/

/xʊŋ³⁵ jɛn³⁵ pu̯ɔ³⁵ miŋ⁵¹/

/hʊŋ²¹ ŋaːn²¹ pɔːk̚² mɪŋ²²/

beautiful women often suffer unhappy fates


無面目見江東父老

ㄨˊ ㄇㄧㄢˋ ㄇㄨˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄐㄧㄤ ㄉㄨㄥ ㄈㄨˋ ㄌㄠˇ

mou⁴ min⁶ muk⁶ gin³ gong¹ dung¹ fu⁶ lou⁵

wu² mien⁴-mu⁴ chien⁴ Chiang¹-tung¹ fu⁴-lao³

у мяньму цзянь Цзяндун фулао

/u³⁵ mi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ mu⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ tʊŋ⁵⁵ fu⁵¹ lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

mou⁴ min⁶ muk⁹ gin³ gong¹ dung¹ fu⁶ lou⁵

mou⁴ min⁶ mug⁶ gin³ gong¹ dung¹ fu⁶ lou⁵

/mou̯²¹ miːn²² mʊk̚² kiːn³³ kɔːŋ⁵⁵ tʊŋ⁵⁵ fuː²² lou̯¹³/

Xiang Yu laughed and said, "The Heaven wants to destroy me. What use is it for me to cross the Yangtze River! Besides, I crossed the river to the west with 8,000 of young brothers from the eastern bank, but now none of them can return. Even if the elders of the eastern bank pity me and support me as the king, what face do I have to face them? Even if they don't speak out, am I not ashamed deep in my heart?"

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

Xiàng Wáng xiào yuē: “Tiān zhī wáng wǒ, wǒ hé dù wéi! Qiě Jí yǔ jiāngdōng zǐdì bā qiān rén dùjiāng ér xī, jīn wú yī rén hái, zòng jiāngdōng fùxiōng lián ér wànɡ wǒ, wǒ hé miànmù jiàn zhī? Zòng bǐ bù yán, Jí dú bù kuì yú xīn hū?”

項王笑曰：「天之亡我，我何渡為！且籍與江東子弟八千人渡江而西，今無一人還，縱江東父兄憐而王我，我何面目見之？縱彼不言，籍獨不愧於心乎？」

项王笑曰：「天之亡我，我何渡为！且籍与江东子弟八千人渡江而西，今无一人还，纵江东父兄怜而王我，我何面目见之？纵彼不言，籍独不愧于心乎？」

to be ashamed to face one's relatives and friends in one's hometown because of one's failures


what's someone's damage

Popularized by the teen comedy Heathers (1989).

What's your damage?

(US, informal) What is wrong with X? What's X's problem? Is X crazy?


一錯再錯

ㄧ ㄘㄨㄛˋ ㄗㄞˋ ㄘㄨㄛˋ

/i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡saɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰɔː³³ t͡sɔːi̯³³ t͡sʰɔː³³/

/jɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰɔː³³ t͡sɔːi̯³³ t͡sʰɔː³³/

to make the same mistake(s) again and again; to continue making error after error


驍勇善戰

ㄒㄧㄠ ㄩㄥˇ ㄕㄢˋ ㄓㄢˋ

сяоюншаньчжань

/ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ jʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂän⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂän⁵¹/

/hiːu̯⁵⁵ jʊŋ¹³ siːn²² t͡siːn³³/

/ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ jʊŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂän⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂän⁵¹/

/hiːu̯⁵⁵ jʊŋ¹³ siːn²² t͡siːn³³/


七老八十

ㄑㄧ ㄌㄠˇ ㄅㄚ ㄕˊ

/t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pä⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ lou̯¹³ paːt̚³ sɐp̚²/

/t͡sʰit̚³²⁻⁴ lau³³⁻¹¹ pue(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ t͡sap̚⁴/

/t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pä⁵⁵ ʂʐ̩³⁵/

/t͡sʰɐt̚⁵ lou̯¹³ paːt̚³ sɐp̚²/


滴水不漏

ㄉㄧ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄡˋ

/ti⁵⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ loʊ̯⁵¹/

/tɪk̚² sɵy̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ lɐu̯²²/

/ti⁵⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ loʊ̯⁵¹/

/tɪk̚² sɵy̯³⁵ pɐt̚⁵ lɐu̯²²/

completely rigorous; watertight; very tight


馬失前蹄

ㄇㄚˇ ㄕ ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄊㄧˊ

/mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ tʰi³⁵/

/maː¹³ sɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹ tʰɐi̯²¹/

/mä²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ tʰi³⁵/

/maː¹³ sɐt̚⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹ tʰɐi̯²¹/

to suddenly fail through miscalculation or inattentiveness


心腹大患

ㄒㄧㄣ ㄈㄨˋ ㄉㄚˋ ㄏㄨㄢˋ

синьфудахуань

/ɕin⁵⁵ fu⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ xu̯än⁵¹/

/sɐm⁵⁵ fʊk̚⁵ taːi̯²² waːn²²/

/ɕin⁵⁵ fu⁵¹⁻⁵³ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ xu̯än⁵¹/

/sɐm⁵⁵ fʊk̚⁵ taːi̯²² waːn²²/


聲情並茂

ㄕㄥ ㄑㄧㄥˊ ㄅㄧㄥˋ ㄇㄠˋ

шэнцинбинмао

/ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ piŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ mɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/sɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ pɪŋ²² mɐu̯²²/

/ʂɤŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵ piŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ mɑʊ̯⁵¹/

/sɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹ pɪŋ²² mɐu̯²²/

(of a singer, speaker, etc.) excellent in both voice and the expression of emotions


養兒防老

ㄧㄤˇ ㄦˊ ㄈㄤˊ ㄌㄠˇ

/jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ fɑŋ³⁵ lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jœːŋ¹³ jiː²¹ fɔːŋ²¹ lou̯¹³/

/jɑŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ fɑŋ³⁵ lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

/jœːŋ¹³ jiː²¹ fɔːŋ²¹ lou̯¹³/

(of parents) to bring up children for the purpose of being looked after in old age


silmä kovana

Nyt pojat silmä kovana.


זײַ מיר מוחל

/ˌzaɪ̯ mɪʁ ˈmɔɪ̯χɫ̩/

/ˌzaɪ̯ mɪʁ ˈmeɪ̯χɫ̩/

/ˈzaː miːʁ ˈmɔɪ̯χɫ̩/

/ˌza miʁ ˈmɔɪ̯χɫ̩/

מוחל borrowed from Hebrew מוחל, the present participle and present tense of מחל.


az ember

az (“the”) + ember (“person, human being, [generic] man”)

af

Az embernek szórakoznia is kell néha.

Sajnos az ember nem tud pénz nélkül élni.

Unfortunately you can’t live without money.

Az ebédrehívás mindannyiuknak jólesett, mert az ember megéhezik a sok beszéd közt s a háború félelmében.

1922, Zsigmond Móricz, Tündérkert, book 1, chapter 9:

The invitation to lunch made all of them feel good, for anyone would get hungry from much talk and the fear of the war.

(idiomatic) one, you (any person; applying to people in general, used as an indefinite, generic pronoun)

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see az, ember.


a³¹kju̠⁵⁵ kɔ̠³⁵ vɛ³⁵

head

a³¹kju̠⁵⁵ kɔ̠³⁵ vɛ³⁵

/a³¹kju̠⁵⁵ kɔ̠³⁵vɛ³⁵/

[a³¹cu̠⁵⁵ kɔ̠³⁵vɛ³⁵]

Calque of Jingpho chyeju kaba sai (“thank you”, literally “the kindness has been big”). Compare Lhao Vo Jeju qi: va" and Zaiwa Jezhu gvo be.


顛倒是非

ㄉㄧㄢ ㄉㄠˇ ㄕˋ ㄈㄟ

дяньдаошифэй

/ti̯ɛn⁵⁵ tɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ feɪ̯⁵⁵/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² to⁵³⁻⁴⁴ si²²⁻²¹ hui⁴⁴/

/tiɛn³³ to⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ si⁴¹⁻²² hui³³/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² to⁵³⁻⁴⁴ si²²⁻²¹ hui⁴⁴/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ to⁵³⁻⁴⁴ si³³⁻¹¹ hui⁴⁴/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ tɤ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ si³³⁻²¹ hui⁴⁴/

/ti̯ɛn⁵⁵ tɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʂʐ̩⁵¹ feɪ̯⁵⁵/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² to⁵³⁻⁴⁴ si²²⁻²¹ hui⁴⁴/

/tiɛn³³ to⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ si⁴¹⁻²² hui³³/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻²² to⁵³⁻⁴⁴ si²²⁻²¹ hui⁴⁴/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ to⁵³⁻⁴⁴ si³³⁻¹¹ hui⁴⁴/

/tiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ tɤ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ si³³⁻²¹ hui⁴⁴/

to confound right with wrong; to distort the truth


話說回來

ㄏㄨㄚˋ ㄕㄨㄛ ㄏㄨㄟˊ ㄌㄞˊ

хуа шо хуэйлай

/xu̯ä⁵¹ ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ xu̯eɪ̯³⁵ laɪ̯³⁵/

/waː²² syːt̚³ wuːi̯²¹ lɔːi̯²¹/

/xu̯ä⁵¹ ʂu̯ɔ⁵⁵ xu̯eɪ̯³⁵ laɪ̯³⁵/

/waː²² syːt̚³ wuːi̯²¹ lɔːi̯²¹/

returning to the main topic...; that said; again; nevertheless; anyhow


見縫插針

ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄈㄥˋ ㄔㄚ ㄓㄣ

цзяньфэнчачжэнь

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ fɤŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵/

/kiːn³³ fʊŋ²² t͡sʰaːp̚³ t͡sɐm⁵⁵/

/t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹⁻⁵³ fɤŋ⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂən⁵⁵/

/kiːn³³ fʊŋ²² t͡sʰaːp̚³ t͡sɐm⁵⁵/

to make use of every bit of available time or space


天各一方

ㄊㄧㄢ ㄍㄜˋ ㄧ ㄈㄤ

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ kɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ fɑŋ⁵⁵/

/tʰiːn⁵⁵ kɔːk̚³ jɐt̚⁵ fɔːŋ⁵⁵/

/tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ kak̚²⁻⁴ t͡sek̚⁴⁻² huaŋ³³/

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ kɤ⁵¹⁻⁵³ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ fɑŋ⁵⁵/

/tʰiːn⁵⁵ kɔːk̚³ jɐt̚⁵ fɔːŋ⁵⁵/

/tʰiaŋ³³⁻²³ kak̚²⁻⁴ t͡sek̚⁴⁻² huaŋ³³/


Sauer macht lustig

Literally, “sour makes merry”. Refers to the positive effects of sour foods on appetite and digestion. Generally, German cuisine is fond of and rich in sour dishes, compare Sauerkraut, Sauerbraten, Saurer Hering, etc.

sour food is enjoyable and beneficial for body and soul


raha ei haise

money does not smell
money does not smell


肅然起敬

ㄙㄨˋ ㄖㄢˊ ㄑㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄥˋ

сужаньцицзин

/su⁵¹ ʐän³⁵ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹/

/sʊk̚⁵ jiːn²¹ hei̯³⁵ kɪŋ³³/

/sok̚²⁻⁴ d͡ziaŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ kʰi⁵²⁻³⁵ keŋ²¹³/

/su⁵¹ ʐän³⁵ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕiŋ⁵¹/

/sʊk̚⁵ jiːn²¹ hei̯³⁵ kɪŋ³³/

/sok̚²⁻⁴ d͡ziaŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ kʰi⁵²⁻³⁵ keŋ²¹³/

to feel great respect and admiration (for somebody); to be filled with deep respect (for somebody)


잠을 청하다

[t͡ɕa̠mɯɭ t͡ɕʰʌ̹ŋɦa̠da̠]

to try and fall asleep; to lull oneself to sleep


ole hyvä vain

(in the singular) be my guest, go ahead, you're welcome


ei päätä eikä häntää

Tässä koko jutussa ei ole päätä eikä häntää.

I can't make head or tail of this entire thing.


cau i fyny

(expression) shut up, an expression used when telling someone to be quiet


燈火通明

ㄉㄥ ㄏㄨㄛˇ ㄊㄨㄥ ㄇㄧㄥˊ

/tɤŋ⁵⁵ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/tɐŋ⁵⁵ fɔː³⁵ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ mɪŋ²¹/

/tɤŋ⁵⁵ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ miŋ³⁵/

/tɐŋ⁵⁵ fɔː³⁵ tʰʊŋ⁵⁵ mɪŋ²¹/


don't spend it all in one place

Since 19-20th century, originally prefixed by "here's a ha'penny". An allusion to criminals paying unusually large amounts in cash, which would raise suspicions.

(humorous, sarcastic) A reaction to someone receiving money, often an insignificant amount.


飲恨而終

ㄧㄣˇ ㄏㄣˋ ㄦˊ ㄓㄨㄥ

иньхэньэрчжун

/in²¹⁴⁻²¹ xən⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐm³⁵ hɐn²² jiː²¹ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵/

/in²¹⁴⁻²¹ xən⁵¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵/

/jɐm³⁵ hɐn²² jiː²¹ t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵/


對簿公堂

ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄊㄤˊ

/tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ kʊŋ⁵⁵ tʰɑŋ³⁵/

/tɵy̯³³ pou̯²² kʊŋ⁵⁵ tʰɔːŋ²¹/

/tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ kʊŋ⁵⁵ tʰɑŋ³⁵/

/tɵy̯³³ pou̯²² kʊŋ⁵⁵ tʰɔːŋ²¹/

to confront someone in court; to go to court


天怒人怨

Heaven is angry and the people are resentful

ㄊㄧㄢ ㄋㄨˋ ㄖㄣˊ ㄩㄢˋ

тяньнужэньюань

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ nu⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ɥɛn⁵¹/

/tʰiːn⁵⁵ nou̯²² jɐn²¹ jyːn³³/

/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ nu⁵¹ ʐən³⁵ ɥɛn⁵¹/

/tʰiːn⁵⁵ nou̯²² jɐn²¹ jyːn³³/

there is widespread anger and discontent among the people (because of the harm or evil someone has done)


神州陸沉

ㄕㄣˊ ㄓㄡ ㄌㄨˋ ㄔㄣˊ

шэньчжоулучэнь

šɛnʹčžoulučɛnʹ

/ʂən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ lu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵/

/sɐn²¹ t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵ lʊk̚² t͡sʰɐm²¹/

/ʂən³⁵ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵ lu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰən³⁵/

/sɐn²¹ t͡sɐu̯⁵⁵ lʊk̚² t͡sʰɐm²¹/

Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5ᵗʰ century CE

Huán Gōng rù Luò, guò Huái Sì, jiàn běi jìng, yǔ zhū liáoshǔ dēng píngchénglóu, tiàozhǔ Zhōngyuán, kǎirán yuē: “Suì shǐ Shénzhōulùchén, bǎinián qiūxū, wáng Yífǔ zhūrén bùdé bù rèn qí zé!”

桓公入洛，過淮泗，踐北境，與諸僚屬登平乘樓，眺矚中原，慨然曰：「遂使神州陸沉，百年丘虛，王夷甫諸人不得不任其責！」

桓公入洛，过淮泗，践北境，与诸僚属登平乘楼，眺瞩中原，慨然曰：「遂使神州陆沉，百年丘虚，王夷甫诸人不得不任其责！」

China is invaded and occupied by enemies


what's the damage

How much does it cost
how much does it cost

(informal, humorous) How much does it cost?


what's the betting

(UK, informal) How much do you want to bet that …?


what now

A request for advice or instruction on what should be done.

A request, usually rhetorical, to know what, in a series of negative events, is the next negative event occurring.

what do you want
what do you want#English

Synonym of what do you want? (said out of irritation)

how's that
how's that#English:_beg_pardon


wszędzie dobrze, gdzie nas nie ma

/ˈfʂɛɲ.d͡ʑɛ dɔbʐɛˌ ɡd͡ʑɛ nas ɲɛ ma/

Literally, “It is good everwhere where we are not”.

lit

(idiomatic) the grass is always greener on the other side


με ευχέρεια

head

με ευχέρεια • (me efchéreia)

el-phrase

με ευχέρεια • (me efchéreia)

Coordinate term: ρευστός (refstós)


うず

uzu (romanization)
うぜ (irrealis stem)
uze (irrealis stem)
うじ (continuative stem)
uzi (continuative stem)
うず (stem terminative)
uzu (stem terminative)
うずる (attributive stem)
uzuru (attributive stem)
うずれ (realis stem)
uzure (realis stem)
うぜよ (imperative stem)
uzeyo (imperative stem)
うぜず (negative)
uzezu (negative)
うずれど (contrastive)
uzuredo (contrastive)
うずれば (causative)
uzureba (causative)
うぜば (conditional)
uzeba (conditional)
うじき (past)
uziki (past)
うじけり (past)
uzikeri (past)
うじつ (perfect)
uzitu (perfect)
うじぬ (perfect)
uzinu (perfect)
うぜり (continuative perfect)
うじたり (continuative perfect)
uzeri (continuative perfect)
uzitari (continuative perfect)
うぜむ (volitional)
uzemu (volitional)

From むず (muzu), contraction of むとす (mu to su).

(archaic) Alternative form of んとする (n to suru)


bĩ cực thái lai

[ʔɓi˦ˀ˥ kɨk̚˧˨ʔ tʰaːj˧˦ laːj˧˧]

[ʔɓɪj˧˨ kɨk̚˨˩ʔ tʰaːj˨˩˦ laːj˧˧]

[ʔɓɪj˨˩˦ kɨk̚˨˩˨ tʰaːj˦˥ laːj˧˧]

it is always darkest before the dawn
it is always darkest before the dawn

just wait; bad luck will end for good luck to return


額頭流汗

ㄜˊ ㄊㄡˊ ㄌㄧㄡˊ ㄏㄢˋ

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ li̯oʊ̯³⁵ xän⁵¹/

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³ li̯oʊ̯³⁵ xän⁵¹/

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ li̯oʊ̯³⁵ xän⁵¹/

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³ li̯oʊ̯³⁵ xän⁵¹/


額頭出汗

ㄜˊ ㄊㄡˊ ㄔㄨ ㄏㄢˋ

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ xän⁵¹/

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ xän⁵¹/

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ xän⁵¹/

/ˀɤ³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³ ʈ͡ʂʰu⁵⁵ xän⁵¹/


lüjenă svećă

From Proto-Slavic *lojьnàja svěťà. See: *lȍjь, *lȍjьnъ and *svěťà.
In Polabian, the Proto-Slavic suffix *-еn- is found, not *-ьn-.


mitä nyt

mitä nyt taas?

but can be used more generally when exasperated

(informal) what now? what do you want? what is it?


Herran pieksut

Alternative letter-case form of herran pieksut


Luojan tähden

Alternative letter-case form of luojan tähden


voi hyvä Luoja

Alternative letter-case form of voi hyvä luoja


橫風橫雨

/waːŋ²¹ fʊŋ⁵⁵ waːŋ²¹ jyː¹³/

/waːŋ²¹ fʊŋ⁵⁵ waːŋ²¹ jyː¹³/

(Cantonese) to have a furious storm; to be raining sideways


әжетхана қай жерде

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әжетхана қай жерде?

әжетхана қай жерде? • (äjetxana qai jerde?)

en-әжетхана_қай_жерде-kk-phrase-wz-aq3eM


光彩耀目

ㄍㄨㄤ ㄘㄞˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄇㄨˋ

/ku̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ mu⁵¹/

/ku̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰaɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ jɑʊ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ mu⁵¹/

光彩奪目 光彩奪目#Chinese

光彩夺目 光彩夺目#Chinese

Synonym of 光彩奪目／光彩夺目 (guāngcǎiduómù, “brilliant and dazzling”)


ei muuta kuin

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: ei muuta kuin. "nothing other than"

Ei muuta kuin menoksi.


學有所成

ㄒㄩㄝˊ ㄧㄡˇ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄔㄥˊ

/ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/hɔːk̚² jɐu̯¹³ sɔː³⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

/ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/

/hɔːk̚² jɐu̯¹³ sɔː³⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

to have made achievements in one's studies; to have completed one's studies


橫街窄巷

/waːŋ²¹ kaːi̯⁵⁵ t͡saːk̚³ hɔːŋ²²/

/waːŋ²¹ kaːi̯⁵⁵ t͡saːk̚³ hɔːŋ²²⁻³⁵/

/waːŋ²¹ kaːi̯⁵⁵ t͡saːk̚³ hɔːŋ²²/

/waːŋ²¹ kaːi̯⁵⁵ t͡saːk̚³ hɔːŋ²²⁻³⁵/


każdy kij ma dwa końce

(idiomatic) it cuts both ways, something is a double-edged sword


胸無大志

ㄒㄩㄥ ㄨˊ ㄉㄚˋ ㄓˋ

/ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵ u³⁵ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ mou̯²¹ taːi̯²² t͡siː³³/

/ɕi̯ʊŋ⁵⁵ u³⁵ tä⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹/

/hʊŋ⁵⁵ mou̯²¹ taːi̯²² t͡siː³³/

to have no great ambitions or aspirations


wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen

De-wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen.ogg

Literally, “where the fox and the hare bid each other goodnight”.

lit

Die Frachtkosten am Rande eines Wirtschaftsgebietes liegen höher als in der Mitte, zudem ist es schwieriger, qualifizierte Arbeitskräfte zu bekommen. Vor allem junge Menschen wollen nicht dort leben, wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen.

1990 May 11, Dirk Kurbjuweit, “Schatten über den Mauerblümchen”, in Die Zeit:

Shipping costs at the edge of an economic district are higher than in the middle, and it is harder to find qualified workers. Young people in particular don't want to live way out in the middle of nowhere.


say hello to my little friend

From a scene in the film Scarface (1983), in which gangster Tony Montana (Al Pacino) brandishes an assault rifle.

This is the same Lindsey Graham who thinks he needs his AR-15 in case "there was a law-and-order breakdown in my community." You say tomato, I say "Say hello to my little friend."

2015 April 16, Paul Waldman, The Plum Line: Happy Hour Roundup, Washington Post (retrieved 22 June 2021)

Say hello to my little friend. Hideous, isn’t he? […] He's a replica of a tiny 20 cm. black-lacquered bronze statue in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. […] Listed under "grotesque animal," and probably 17th century by the engraver Arent van Bolten, he "stands on high legs with an open beak. On the place of the wings sits the spiralling part of a cochlea (snail shell); its genitals are quite prominent."

2016 August 10, Heather Mallick, Opinion: Meet little Spitey and be better than him, The Star (Toronto, Canada) (retrieved 22 June 2021)

Halstead then turned the camera on himself, holding the meat cleaver as he said: "Say hello to my little friend."

2017 February 16, DJ jailed for chopping off man's finger with meat cleaver after he posts video of 'barbaric' attack on Snapchat, Telegraph (UK) (retrieved 22 June 2021)

Used to describe a situation involving the display of an object that is menacing or unpleasantly excessive, especially a large firearm.


順水人情

ㄕㄨㄣˋ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄖㄣˊ ㄑㄧㄥˊ

шуньшуйжэньцин

/ʂu̯ən⁵¹ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵/

/sɵn²² sɵy̯³⁵ jɐn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹/

/ʂu̯ən⁵¹ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐən³⁵ t͡ɕʰiŋ³⁵/

/sɵn²² sɵy̯³⁵ jɐn²¹ t͡sʰɪŋ²¹/

favour done (for others) at little or no cost


삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다

ko-pos

삼가 고인-의 명복-을 빕니다

삼가 故人의 冥福을 빕니다

삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다 • (samga goin-ui myeongbog-eul bimnida) (hanja 삼가 故人의 冥福을 빕니다)

samga goin-ui myeongbog-eul bimnida (romanization)
삼가 故人의 冥福을 빕니다 (hanja)

[sʰa̠mɡa̠ ko̞(ː)inɰi mjʌ̹ŋbo̞ɡɯɭ pi(ː)mnida̠]

[sʰa̠mɡa̠ ko̞(ː)ine̞ mjʌ̹ŋbo̞ɡɯɭ pi(ː)mnida̠]

삼가고(ː)이늬명보글빔(ː)니다

삼가고(ː)이네명보글빔(ː)니다

"I reverently wish for the happiness of the deceased in the next world"; rest in peace (a conventional phrase said at funerals, etc.)


ne demek!

Used to acknowledge thanks; you are welcome; ritual reply to “teşekkür ederim (“thank you”)”.


қайырлы түн

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қайырлы түн • (qaiyrly tün)


қайырлы кеш

қайырлы кеш • (qaiyrly keş)


雄心勃勃

ㄒㄩㄥˊ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄅㄛˊ ㄅㄛˊ

/ɕi̯ʊŋ³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ pu̯ɔ³⁵ pu̯ɔ³⁵/

/hʊŋ²¹ sɐm⁵⁵ puːt̚² puːt̚²/

/ɕi̯ʊŋ³⁵ ɕin⁵⁵ pu̯ɔ³⁵ pu̯ɔ³⁵/

/hʊŋ²¹ sɐm⁵⁵ puːt̚² puːt̚²/