一个天南,一个地北
yī ge tiān nán , yī ge dì běi
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1 to live miles apart (idiom)
人在江湖,身不由己
rén zài jiāng hú , shēn bù yóu jǐ
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1 you can't always do as you like
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2 one has to compromise in this world (idiom)
北叟失马
běi sǒu shī mǎ
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1 lit. the old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the best (idiom)
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2 fig. a blessing in disguise
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3 it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good
南征北伐
nán zhēng běi fá
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1 war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters
南征北战
nán zhēng běi zhàn
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1 war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters
南征北讨
nán zhēng běi tǎo
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1 war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters
南箕北斗
nán jī běi dǒu
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1 the Winnowing Basket in the southern sky, and the Big Dipper in the north (idiom); sth which, despite its name, is of no practical use
南辕北辙
nán yuán běi zhé
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1 to act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiom)
喝西北风
hē xī běi fēng
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1 lit. drink the northwest wind (idiom); cold and hungry
大江南北
Dà jiāng nán běi
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1 north and south sides of the Yangtze River (idiom)
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2 (fig.) all over China
指点江山
zhǐ diǎn jiāng shān
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1 to talk idly about important matters (idiom)
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2 to set the world to rights
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3 to pass judgment on everything
文江学海
wén jiāng xué hǎi
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1 river of literacy, sea of learning (idiom); ars longa, vita brevis
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
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1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
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2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
江山易改,本性难移
jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yí
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1 it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)
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2 you can't change who you are
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3 Can the leopard change his spots?
江河日下
jiāng hé rì xià
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1 rivers pour away by the day (idiom); going from bad to worse
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2 deteriorating day by day
江郎才尽
Jiāng láng cái jìn
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1 Jiang Yan has exhausted his talent (idiom)
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2 fig. to have used up one's creative powers
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3 to have writer's block
泰山北斗
Tài shān Běi dǒu
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1 as weighty as Mt Tai, as brilliant as the Big Dipper (idiom); a giant among men
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
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1 (idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiàng Yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
翻江倒海
fān jiāng dǎo hǎi
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1 lit. overturning seas and rivers (idiom)
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2 fig. overwhelming
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3 earth-shattering
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4 in a spectacular mess
船到江心,补漏迟
chuán dào jiāng xīn , bǔ lòu chí
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1 It's too late to plug the leak once ship is in the middle of the river. (idiom)