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要不是
yào bu shì
  1. 1 if it were not for
  2. 2 but for
需要是发明之母 | 需要是發明之母
xū yào shì fā míng zhī mǔ
  1. 1 Necessity is the mother of invention (European proverb).
要是
yào shi
  1. 1 (coll.) if
是不是
shì bù shì
  1. 1 is or isn't
  2. 2 yes or no
  3. 3 whether or not
权利要求 | 權利要求
quán lì yāo qiú
  1. 1 claim to rights (copyright, patent etc)
要言不烦 | 要言不煩
yào yán bù fán
  1. 1 to explain in simple terms
  2. 2 succinct
  3. 3 concise
是骡子是马，牵出来遛遛 | 是騾子是馬，牽出來遛遛
shì luó zi shì mǎ , qiān chū lai liù liu
  1. 1 lit. to see whether it's a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the proof of the pudding is in the eating
  3. 3 to show what one is made of
人是铁饭是钢 | 人是鐵飯是鋼
rén shì tiě fàn shì gāng
  1. 1 one can't function properly on an empty stomach (idiom)
  2. 2 an empty sack cannot stand upright
说话要算数 | 說話要算數
shuō huà yào suàn shù
  1. 1 promises must be kept
要加牛奶
yào jiā niú nǎi
  1. 1 with milk
  2. 2 white (of tea, coffee etc)
说是一回事，做又是另外一回事 | 說是一回事，做又是另外一回事
shuō shì yī huí shì , zuò yòu shì lìng wài yī huí shì
  1. 1 Saying is one thing, doing quite another (idiom)
要死要活
yào sǐ yào huó
  1. 1 terribly
  2. 2 awfully
  3. 3 desperately
是骡子是马，拉出来遛遛 | 是騾子是馬，拉出來遛遛
shì luó zi shì mǎ , lā chū lai liù liu
  1. 1 是騾子是馬，牽出來遛遛|是骡子是马，牵出来遛遛[shì luó zi shì mǎ
  2. 2 qiān chū lai liù liu]
唯命是从 | 唯命是從
wéi mìng shì cóng
  1. 1 to follow obediently
实事求是 | 實事求是
shí shì qiú shì
  1. 1 to seek truth from facts (idiom)
  2. 2 to be practical and realistic
又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草 | 又要馬兒跑，又要馬兒不吃草
yòu yào mǎ r pǎo , yòu yào mǎ r bù chī cǎo
  1. 1 lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too
又要马儿好，又要马儿不吃草 | 又要馬兒好，又要馬兒不吃草
yòu yào mǎ r hǎo , yòu yào mǎ r bù chī cǎo
  1. 1 又要馬兒跑，又要馬兒不吃草|又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草[yòu yào mǎ r5 pǎo
  2. 2 yòu yào mǎ r5 bù chī cǎo]
不是鱼死就是网破 | 不是魚死就是網破
bù shì yú sǐ jiù shì wǎng pò
  1. 1 lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. it's a life-and-death struggle
  3. 3 it's either him or me
一是一，二是二
yī shì yī , èr shì èr
  1. 1 lit. one is one, two is two (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. things are (or ought to be) perfectly clear-cut
  3. 3 unequivocal
事实求是 | 事實求是
shì shí qiú shì
  1. 1 to seek the truth from facts