常用成语英汉互译(2)
On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.
It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most.
谋事在人，成事在天 "The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. / Man proposes, God disposes. "
弄巧成拙 be too smart by half; Cunning outwits itself.
拿手好戏 masterpiece
赔了夫人又折兵 throw good money after bad
抛砖引玉 a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale
破釜沉舟 cut off all means of retreat； burn one‘s own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end
抢得先机 take the preemptive opportunities
巧妇难为无米之炊 If you have no hand you can't make a fist./ One can't make bricks without straw.
千里之行始于足下a thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step
前事不忘,后事之师 Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.
前人栽树,后人乘凉 One generation plants the trees in whose shade another generation rests.
One sows and another reaps.
前怕狼,后怕虎 fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind/ hesitate in doing something
强龙难压地头蛇 Even a dragon (from the outside) finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt - Powerful outsiders can hardly afford to neglect local bullies.
强强联手 win-win co-operation
瑞雪兆丰年 A timely snow promises a good harvest.
人之初,性本善 Man's nature at birth is good.
人逢喜事精神爽 Joy puts heart into a man.
人海战术 huge-crowd strategy
世上无难事，只要肯攀登 "Where there is a will, there is a way. "
世外桃源 a fictitious land of peace away from the turmoil of the world;
死而后已 until my heart stops beating
岁岁平安 Peace all year round
塞翁失马，焉知非福 Misfortune may be an actual blessing.
谁言寸草心，报得三春晖 "Such kindness of warm sun, can't be repaid by grass. [NextPage]
水涨船高 When the river rises, the boat floats high.
时不我待 Time and tide wait for no man.
杀鸡用牛刀 break a butterfly on the wheel
实事求是 seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts
说曹操,曹操到 Talk of the devil and he comes.
实话实说 speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is
实践是检验真理的唯一标准 Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.
山不在高，有仙则名 "No matter how high the mountain is, its name will spread far and wide if there is a fairy; "
韬光养晦 hide one's capacities and bide one's time
糖衣炮弹 sugar-coated bullets
天有不测风云 Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue
团结就是力量 Unity is strength.
“跳进黄河洗不清” "eve if one jumped into the Yellow River, one can not wash oneself clean--there's nothing one can do to clear one's name "
歪风邪气 unhealthy practices and evil phenomena
物以类聚，人以群分 Birds of a feather flock together.
往事如风 "The past has vanished (from memory) like wind.; What in past, is past."
望子成龙 hold high hopes for one's child
屋漏又逢连阴雨 Misfortunes never come singly. When it rains it pours.
文韬武略 military expertise; military strategy
唯利是图 draw water to one's mill
无源之水,无本之木 water without a source, and a tree wiithout roots
无中生有 make/create something out of nothing
无风不起浪 There are no waves without wind. There's no smoke without fire.
徇私枉法 bend the law for the benefit of relatives or friends
新官上任三把火 a new broom sweeps clean
虚心使人进步,骄傲使人落后 Modesty helps one go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind.
蓄势而发 accumulate strength for a take-off
心想事成 May all your wish come true
心照不宣 have a tacit understanding; give tacit consent; tacit understanding
先入为主 First impressions are firmly entrenched.
先下手为强 catch the ball before the bound
像热锅上的蚂蚁 like an ant on a hot pan
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现身说法 warn people by taking oneself as an example
息事宁人 pour oil on troubled waters
喜忧参半 mingled hope and fear
循序渐进 step by step
一路平安，一路顺风 speed somebody on their way; speed the parting guest
严以律己,宽以待人 be strict with oneself and lenient towards others
鱼米之乡 a land of milk and honey
有情人终成眷属 "Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well."
有钱能使鬼推磨 Money makes the mare go. Money talks.
有识之士 people of vision
有勇无谋 use brawn rather than brain
有缘千里来相会 Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.
与时俱进 advance with times
以人为本 people oriented; people foremost
因材施教 teach students according to their aptitude
欲穷千里目，更上一层楼 "to ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther; Would eye embrace a thousand miles? Go up, one flight."
欲速则不达 Haste does not bring success.
优胜劣汰 survival of the fittest
英雄所见略同 Great minds think alike.
冤家宜解不宜结 Better make friends than make enemies.
冤假错案 "cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases"
一言既出，驷马难追 A real man never goes back on his words.
招财进宝 Money and treasures will be plentiful
债台高筑 become debt-ridden
致命要害 Achilles' heel
众矢之的 target of public criticism
知己知彼,百战不殆 Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.
纸上谈兵 be an armchair strategist
纸包不住火 Truth will come to light sooner or later.
左右为难 between the devil and the deep blue sea; between the rock and the hard place |
