Daily 成语！
xiao_liang
April 26, 2010, 08:46 AM posted in General DiscussionI am going to revive this group!
十全十美
Shí quán shí měi
Completely perfect, to be perfect in every way.
Literally "ten complete, ten beautiful"
I love this idiom. It's very sweet sounding to my ears.
xiao_liang
May 11, 2010, 10:27 AM只欠东风
zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng
All we need is the east wind
Literally "only lack east wind"
When you just need one final thing to finish off - all you need is the east wind!
xiao_liang
April 29, 2010, 09:17 AM人要脸，树要皮
rényàoliǎn, shùyàopí
People need face like trees need bark
Literally "people need face, trees need bark"
Not so much a 成语, but a nice saying nonetheless. Apparently attributed to Lao She, the famous Manchu writer. Says a lot about the human condition, and particularly that of the Chinese people, and the concept of "face".
dan_in_alberta
April 29, 2010, 12:01 PMFor 笑里藏刀 (xiào lǐ cáng dāo), my dictionary also lists "when the fox preaches, look to the geese". It sounds like 笑里藏刀 could be considered the common theme of recent movies like Curse of the Golden Flower (满城尽带黄金甲), The Banquet (Yè Yàn, 夜宴) (also called The Legend of the Black Scorpion), Red Cliff (Chì bì, 赤壁), etc.
I guess 满城尽带黄金甲 is pronounced mǎn chéng jìn dài huáng jīn jiǎ.
dan_in_alberta
April 29, 2010, 12:07 PMMy favorite saying lately... 大勇若怯，大智若愚. Are lines like these considered idioms or just sayings?
大勇若怯，大智若愚
Brave appear timid, wise appear foolish.
Literally: dà yǒng ruò qiè, dà zhì ruò yú
great-brave-seem-afraid, great-wise-seem-stupid
Is it an idiom, or more like "a penny saved is a penny earned"?
xiao_liang
I think it still counts as an idiom - I don't understand this one though! What does it mean? Everything is topsy turvy?
xiao_liang
凉 :-p You don't think it means that? What does it mean then?
dan_in_alberta
It means that appearances can be deceiving, or we may judge too quickly. Sometimes the actions of a brave person may appear cautious, even though in the end they were the brave one, etc. And a wise person can do something that we misunderstand, and label as stupid, although it may become obvious later that he was being clever.
大勇若怯，大智若愚
dan_in_alberta
I guess it is more of a proverb or saying.
suansuanru
my dictionary told me what you meant is “七颠八倒”,an idom too.
xiao_liang
April 29, 2010, 12:39 PMI think it still counts as an idiom - I don't understand this one though! What does it mean? Everything is topsy turvy?
suansuanru
April 29, 2010, 03:40 PMIs it an idiom.
Everything is topsy turvy
hi 小亮，i dont think so.hehe.
dan_in_alberta
April 30, 2010, 09:10 AMIt means that appearances can be deceiving, or we may judge too quickly. Sometimes the actions of a brave person may appear cautious, even though in the end they were the brave one, etc. And a wise person can do something that we misunderstand, and label as stupid, although it may become obvious later that he was being clever.
大勇若怯，大智若愚
xiao_liang
April 28, 2010, 10:53 AM笑里藏刀
Xiào lǐ cáng dāo
To hide a dagger in a smile
Literally, "Smile inside hide dagger"
To describe someone who is two-faced. Apparently originally made for the Tang Dynasty prime minister Li Yifu, who always wore a sweet smile but had daggers in his heart and rose to power over the backs of others.
xiao_liang
April 30, 2010, 09:59 AM对牛弹琴
Duì niú tán qín
Casting pearls before swine.
Literally, "to pigs play zither" (zither is a musical instrument).
Cute phrase! The pointlessness of giving the uncultured fine things! Like playing musical instruments to pigs, or "casting pearls" before them (because they'd just trample them into the ground).
bababardwan
this must be a well known one 'cos i've seen it before on the boards and more than once I think.
xiao_liang
May 05, 2010, 10:19 AMBeen away for a few days, but today's idiom!
一毛不拔
yīmáobùbá
To be stingy
Literally, "one hair unpulled"
To be so stingy you won't even pull out a hair from your head if it would solve all the world's problems.
bababardwan
hey that's a beauty mate. I'll have to try and remember this one. Only just caught up with this thread but I can only encourage you to continue the good work. This one could have been applied to the end of yesterdays lesson...learning English in China.
xiao_liang
May 06, 2010, 01:37 PM亡羊补牢
wáng yáng bǔ láo
Too late!
Literally, "die sheep repair pen"
To repair the sheep pen after the sheep have escaped and died... "too little, too late"
bababardwan
May 06, 2010, 01:46 PMhey that's a beauty mate. I'll have to try and remember this one. Only just caught up with this thread but I can only encourage you to continue the good work. This one could have been applied to the end of yesterdays lesson...learning English in China.
bababardwan
May 06, 2010, 01:49 PMthis must be a well known one 'cos i've seen it before on the boards and more than once I think.
xiao_liang
May 07, 2010, 09:28 AM敬老爱幼
jìng lǎo ài yòu
To respect the aged, and cherish the young
Literally "respect old love young"
Simple, but very cultural :-) Bit harsh for the middle aged, but that's life, right. After all, as we learn from the "meeting the girlfriend's parents" lesson:
中年人上有老下有小，负担最重。
zhōng nián rén shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo, fùdān zuì zhòng.
Middle aged people have both the young and the old to look after, their burden is the heaviest.
xiao_liang
May 10, 2010, 10:21 AM九牛一毛
jiǔ niú yī máo
A drop in the ocean
Literally "Nine oxen, one hair"
The power of one hair against the force of nine oxen - useless, like a drop in the ocean! Nice comparable idiom :-)
dan_in_alberta
April 30, 2010, 09:10 AMI guess it is more of a proverb or saying.
xiao_liang
April 27, 2010, 09:43 AM一悲一喜
yībēiyīxǐ
To be both happy and sad.
Literally "One sadness, one happiness".
To be used when something is bittersweet, actually quite straightforward. I'll try better tomorrow :p