一个天南,一个地北
yī ge tiān nán , yī ge dì běi
-
1 to live miles apart (idiom)
一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
-
1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
-
2 to throw a tantrum
一条绳上的蚂蚱
yī tiáo shéng shàng de mà zha
-
1 lit. grasshoppers tied together with a piece of string (idiom)
-
2 fig. people who are in it together for better or worse
-
3 people who will sink or swim together
三天不打,上房揭瓦
sān tiān bù dǎ , shàng fáng jiē wǎ
-
1 three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip the tiles (idiom)
-
2 spare the rod, spoil the child
上一次当,学一次乖
shàng yī cì dàng , xué yī cì guāi
-
1 to take sth as a lesson for next time (idiom)
-
2 once bitten, twice shy
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
-
1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
-
2 fig. conspiring to defraud
上不了台面
shàng bù liǎo tái miàn
-
1 better kept under the table (idiom)
-
2 not to be disclosed
-
3 too inferior to show in public
上不得台盘
shàng bù dé tái pán
-
1 too uncouth to appear in public (idiom)
-
2 unfit for a public role
上天入地
shàng tiān rù dì
-
1 lit. to go up to heaven or down to Hades (idiom)
-
2 fig. to go to great lengths
-
3 to search heaven and earth
上天无路,入地无门
shàng tiān wú lù , rù dì wú mén
-
1 lit. there is no road to the sky, nor door into the earth (idiom)
-
2 fig. to be at the end of one's rope
-
3 to be trapped in a hopeless situation
上有天堂,下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
-
1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
-
2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
上有政策,下有对策
shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè
-
1 The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
-
1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
-
2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
-
3 sandwich generation
上梁不正下梁歪
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
-
1 lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices
上气不接下气
shàng qì bù jiē xià qì
-
1 out of breath (idiom)
-
2 to gasp for air
上行下效
shàng xíng xià xiào
-
1 subordinates follow the example of their superiors (idiom)
上贼船
shàng zéi chuán
-
1 lit. to board a pirate ship (idiom)
-
2 fig. to associate with criminals
不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
-
1 don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
-
2 there's more than one way to skin a cat
世上无难事,只怕有心人
shì shàng wú nán shì , zhǐ pà yǒu xīn rén
-
1 there is nothing the determined person can't accomplish (idiom)
-
2 persistence will overcome
力争上游
lì zhēng shàng yóu
-
1 to strive for mastery (idiom); aiming for the best result
-
2 to have high ambitions