一是一,二是二
yī shì yī , èr shì èr
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1 lit. one is one, two is two (idiom)
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2 fig. things are (or ought to be) perfectly clear-cut
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3 unequivocal
一身是胆
yī shēn shì dǎn
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1 devoid of fear (idiom)
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2 intrepid
三缄其口
sān jiān qí kǒu
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1 (idiom) reluctant to speak about it
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2 tight-lipped
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
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1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
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2 fig. conspiring to defraud
不胜其苦
bù shèng qí kǔ
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1 unable to bear the pain (idiom)
不厌其烦
bù yàn qí fán
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1 not to mind taking all the trouble (idiom)
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2 to take great pains
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3 to be very patient
不安其室
bù ān qí shì
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1 to be discontented with one's home
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2 to have adulterous relations after marriage (of women) (idiom)
不是一家人不进一家门
bù shì yī jiā rén bù jìn yī jiā mén
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1 people who don't belong together, don't get to live together (idiom)
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2 marriages are predestined
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3 people marry because they share common traits
不是冤家不聚头
bù shì yuān jiā bù jù tóu
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1 destiny will make enemies meet (idiom)
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2 (often said about lovers who have a disagreement)
不是鱼死就是网破
bù shì yú sǐ jiù shì wǎng pò
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1 lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom)
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2 fig. it's a life-and-death struggle
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3 it's either him or me
不计其数
bù jì qí shù
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1 lit. their number cannot be counted (idiom); fig. countless
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2 innumerable
五百年前是一家
wǔ bǎi nián qián shì yī jiā
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1 five hundred years ago we were the same family (idiom) (said of persons with the same surname)
人是铁饭是钢
rén shì tiě fàn shì gāng
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1 one can't function properly on an empty stomach (idiom)
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2 an empty sack cannot stand upright
以儆效尤
yǐ jǐng xiào yóu
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1 in order to warn against following bad examples (idiom)
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2 as a warning to others
以其人之道,还治其人之身
yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn
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1 to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
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2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine
任其自然
rèn qí zì rán
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1 to let things take their course (idiom)
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2 to leave it to nature
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3 laissez-faire
似是而非
sì shì ér fēi
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1 apparently right but actually wrong; specious (idiom)
俯拾皆是
fǔ shí jiē shì
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1 lit. so numerous that one could just bend down and pick them up (idiom)
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2 fig. extremely common
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3 easily available
兄弟阋于墙,外御其侮
xiōng dì xì yú qiáng , wài yù qí wǔ
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1 internal disunity dissolves at the threat of an invasion from outside (idiom)
两全其美
liǎng quán qí měi
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1 to satisfy rival demands (idiom)
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2 to get the best of both worlds
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3 to have it both ways
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4 to have one's cake and eat it too