1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一弹指顷
yī tán zhǐ qǐng
1 a snap of the fingers (idiom); in a flash
2 in the twinkling of an eye
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
1 in groups of three or four (idiom)
三令五申
sān lìng wǔ shēn
1 to order again and again (idiom)
三番五次
sān fān wǔ cì
1 over and over again (idiom)
三纲五常
sān gāng wǔ cháng
1 three principles and five virtues (idiom)
2 the three rules (ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and five constant virtues of Confucianism (benevolence 仁, righteousness 義|义, propriety 禮|礼, wisdom 智 and fidelity 信)
不识泰山
bù shí Tài Shān
1 can't recognize Mt Taishan (idiom); fig. not to recognize a famous person
不显山不露水
bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ
1 lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
了如指掌
liǎo rú zhǐ zhǎng
1 to know sth like the back of one's hand (idiom)
2 to know (a person, a place etc) inside out
五十步笑百步
wǔ shí bù xiào bǎi bù
1 the one who has retreated 50 steps laughs at the one who has retreated 100 steps (idiom)
2 the pot calls the kettle black
五味俱全
wǔ wèi jù quán
1 a complete gamut of all five flavors (idiom); every flavor under the sun
五味杂陈
wǔ wèi zá chén
1 with complex feelings (idiom)
五彩缤纷
wǔ cǎi bīn fēn
1 all the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
五百年前是一家
wǔ bǎi nián qián shì yī jiā
1 five hundred years ago we were the same family (idiom) (said of persons with the same surname)
五色缤纷
wǔ sè bīn fēn
1 all the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
五体投地
wǔ tǐ tóu dì
1 to prostrate oneself in admiration (idiom); to adulate sb
五鬼闹判
wǔ guǐ nào pàn
1 Five ghosts mock the judge, or Five ghosts resist judgment (title of folk opera, idiom); important personage mobbed by a crowd of ne'er-do-wells
他山之石可以攻玉
tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù
1 lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside
2 to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively
令人发指
lìng rén fà zhǐ
1 to make one's hair stand up in anger (idiom); to raise people's hackles