Table of Contents

吃醋  Eating vinegar
两面派  A two — faced character
花架子  A showy structure
吹牛皮  Blowing into the cow hide
拍马屁  Pat the back of the horse
敲竹杠  Rapping bamboo poles
露马脚  Show the cloven hooves
马马虎虎  To be sloppy
效犬马之劳  Renderthe service of a dog and a horse
目不识丁  Do not even recognize the character ding
走马观花  Galloping on horse to see a flower
洛阳纸贵  Paper becomes xpensive in Luoyang
狼狈为奸  Cohorts in troublemaking
人不可貌相，海水不可斗量  A man's worth cannot be measured by his looks just as sea water cannot be measured in liters
丁是丁，卯是卯  Keep ding distinct from mao
人心不足蛇吞象  A man whose heart is not content is like a snake which tries to seallow an elephant
人为财死，鸟为食亡  People die in pursuit of wealth; birds die in pursuit of food
三句不离本行  Unable to say three sentences without referring to one's own line
三个臭皮匠，胜过诸葛亮  Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang
三十年河东，三十年河西  Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi
千里姻缘一线牵  A fate match across a thousand miles is drawn by a thread
不管三七二十一  Never mind that three times seven totalling twenty-one
无巧不成书  There is no story without a coincidence
太岁头上动土  Break the earth above the head of God Taisui
饿了吃糠甜如蜜，饱了吃蜜蜜不甜  When one is hungry, husk will taste as sweet as honey; but when one is full, even honey will not taste sweet
吃不了兜着走  If you cannot finish it, doggie-bag it
各自打扫门前雪，莫管旁人瓦上霜  Each one sweeps the snow from his own doorsteps and does not bother about the frost on his neighbor's roof
死要面子活受罪  To undergo a terrible ordeal in order to save face
县官不如现管  The power of an official in-charge is more effective than the power of a county magistrate
知子莫若父  No one knows a son better than his own father
树倒猢狲散  Once the tree falls, the monkeys on it will scatter
清官难断家务事  Even an upright official finds it hard to settle a family quarrel
路遥知马力，日久见人心  Distance tests a horse's stamina; time reveals a man's heart
跳进黄河洗不清  Sometimes one cannot clear oneself even if one jumps into the Yellow River
三百六十行，行行出状元  In any profession there is some one who excels all the rest
出生牛犊不怕虎  A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger
师傅领进门，学艺在个人  The master teaches the trade, but the apprentice's skill is self-made
远亲不如近邻  A near neighbor is better than a distant relative
这山望着那山高  It's always the other mountain that looks higher
留得青山在，不怕没柴烧  As long as the green mountains are there, one need not worry about firewood
浪子回头金不换  The return of a prodigal is more precious than gold
磨刀不误砍柴工  Grinding a chopper will not delay the work of cutting firewood
王婆卖瓜，自卖自夸  Wang Po sells melons and praises what he sells
打破沙锅问到底  Getting to the bottom of the matter over a broken pot
竹篮子打水 —— 一场空  Drawing water with a bamboo basket —— nothing gained
刘备摔孩子 —— 收买人心  Liu Bei throws his child on the ground to win over the heart of his followers
张飞绣花 —— 粗中有细  Zhang Fei does embroidery work —— a careless person may possess some refined qualities
兔子的尾巴 —— 长不了  The tail of a rabbit cannot be long
茶壶里煮饺子 —— 心里有数  Cooking dumplings in a teapot —— have a definite idea of what one is doing
蚊子叮菩萨 —— 认错人  Mosquito bites Buddha —— a person is misjudged
没良心  Without conscience
千金小姐  A girl who is worth one thousand ounces of gold
一言出口，泼水难收  A word spoken can never be taken back as spilled water can never be gathered up
解铃还需系铃人  To untie the bell, the man who tied it is required
秀才不出门，便知天下事  Without going uotdoors, a scholar knows all the world's affairs
“横七竖八”和“乱七八糟”  Seven on a horizontal line and eight vertically and seven here eight there
墙上挂竹帘 —— 没门  Hanging a bamboo curtain on the wall —— no door in front of you