一字不提
yī zì bù tí
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1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
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1 don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
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2 there's more than one way to skin a cat
刀不磨要生锈,人不学要落后
dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu
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1 a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)
切中要害
qiè zhòng yào hài
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1 to hit the target and do real damage (idiom)
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2 fig. to hit where it hurts
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3 fig. to hit home
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4 an argument that hits the nail on the head
又要马儿跑,又要马儿不吃草
yòu yào mǎ r5 pǎo , yòu yào mǎ r5 bù chī cǎo
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1 lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom)
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2 fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too
只要功夫深,铁杵磨成针
zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn
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1 If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.
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2 cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task
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3 to study diligently
哪壶不开提哪壶
nǎ hú bù kāi tí nǎ hú
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1 lit. mention the pot that doesn't boil (idiom); to touch a sore spot
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2 to talk about sb's weak point
天要落雨,娘要嫁人
tiān yào luò yǔ , niáng yào jià rén
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1 the rain will fall, the womenfolk will marry (idiom)
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2 fig. the natural order of things
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3 something you can't go against
好汉不提当年勇
hǎo hàn bù tí dāng nián yǒng
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1 a real man doesn't boast about his past achievements (idiom)
提神醒脑
tí shén xǐng nǎo
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1 to refresh and clear the mind (idiom)
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2 invigorating
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3 bracing
提纲挈领
tí gāng qiè lǐng
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1 to concentrate on the main points (idiom); to bring out the essentials
正中要害
zhèng zhòng yào hài
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1 to hit the nail on the head (idiom)
死要面子活受罪
sǐ yào miàn zi huó shòu zuì
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1 to go through hell for the sake of keeping up appearances (idiom)
相提并论
xiāng tí bìng lùn
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1 to discuss two disparate things together (idiom); to mention on equal terms
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2 to place on a par with
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3 (often with negatives: impossible to mention X in the same breath as Y)
简明扼要
jiǎn míng è yào
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1 brief and to the point (idiom)
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2 succinct
绝口不提
jué kǒu bù tí
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1 lips sealed and not saying anything (idiom); fig. to omit mention (of a non-person or embarrassing topic)
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2 to censor
紧要关头
jǐn yào guān tóu
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1 urgent and important moment (idiom); critical juncture
耳提面命
ěr tí miàn mìng
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1 to give sincere advice (idiom)
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2 to exhort earnestly
若要人不知,除非己莫为
ruò yào rén bù zhī , chú fēi jǐ mò wéi
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1 If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it (idiom). fig. If you do something bad, people will inevitably hear about it.
只字不提
zhī zì bù tí
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1 not to mention (idiom); to say not one word
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2 fig. to omit mention (of a non-person or embarrassing topic)
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3 to censor