3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
五彩缤纷
wǔ cǎi bīn fēn
1 all the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
倒悬之危
dào xuán zhī wēi
1 lit. the crisis of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
2 dire straits
倒悬之急
dào xuán zhī jí
1 lit. the crisis of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
2 dire straits
倒悬之苦
dào xuán zhī kǔ
1 lit. the pain of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
2 dire straits
倒打一耙
dào dǎ yī pá
1 lit. to strike with a muckrake (idiom), cf Pigsy 豬八戒|猪八戒 in Journey to the West 西遊記|西游记; fig. to counterattack
2 to make bogus accusations (against one's victim)
倒行逆施
dào xíng nì shī
1 to go against the tide (idiom); to do things all wrong
2 to try to turn back history
3 a perverse way of doing things
兵败如山倒
bīng bài rú shān dǎo
1 troops in defeat like a landslide (idiom); a beaten army in total collapse
吃喝玩乐
chī hē wán lè
1 to eat, drink and be merry (idiom)
2 to abandon oneself to a life of pleasure
吃香喝辣
chī xiāng hē là
1 lit. to eat delicious food and drink hard liquor (idiom)
2 fig. to live well
呼来喝去
hū lái hè qù
1 to call to come and shout to go (idiom); to yell orders
2 always bossing people around
喝西北风
hē xī běi fēng
1 lit. drink the northwest wind (idiom); cold and hungry
好心倒做了驴肝肺
hǎo xīn dào zuò le lu:2 gān fēi
1 lit. to mistake good intentions for a donkey's liver and lungs (idiom)
2 fig. to mistake good intentions for ill intent
张灯结彩
zhāng dēng jié cǎi
1 to be decorated with lanterns and colored banners (idiom)
投机倒把
tóu jī dǎo bǎ
1 speculation and profiteering (idiom); buying and selling on speculation
排山倒海
pái shān dǎo hǎi
1 lit. to topple the mountains and overturn the seas (idiom); earth-shattering
2 fig. gigantic
3 of spectacular significance
本末倒置
běn mò dào zhì
1 lit. to invert root and branch (idiom); fig. confusing cause and effect
2 to stress the incidental over the fundamental
3 to put the cart before the horse
东倒西歪
dōng dǎo xī wāi
1 to lean unsteadily from side to side (idiom)
2 to sway
3 (of buildings etc) to lean at a crazy angle
树倒猢狲散
shù dǎo hú sūn sàn
1 When the tree topples the monkeys scatter. (idiom); fig. an opportunist abandons an unfavorable cause