中国成语的英文形式

随便 · 发表于 2004-11-3 04:04

爱屋及乌Love me, love my dog.
百闻不如一见Seeing is believing.
比上不足，比下有余"worse off than some, better off than many; to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst
笨鸟先飞A slow sparrow should make an early start.
不眠之夜white night　
不以物喜，不以己悲not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personnal losses
不遗余力spare no effort; go all out; do one's best
不打不成交"No discord, no concord.
拆东墙补西墙rob Peter to pay Paul
辞旧迎新bid farewell to the old and usher in the new; ring out the old year and ring in the new
大事化小，小事化了try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all
大开眼界open one's eyes; broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener
国泰民安The country flourishes and people live in peace
过犹不及going too far is as bad as not going far enough; beyond is as wrong as falling short; too much is as bad as too little
功夫不负有心人Everything comes to him who waits.
好了伤疤忘了疼once on shore, one prays no more
好事不出门，恶事传千里Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spread far and wide.
和气生财Harmony brings wealth
活到老，学到老One is never too old to learn.
既往不咎let bygones be bygones
金无足赤,人无完人Gold can't be pure and man can't be perfect.
金玉满堂Treasures fill the home
脚踏实地be down-to-earth
脚踩两只船sit on the fence
君子之交淡如水the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as crystal; a hedge between keeps friendship green
老生常谈，陈词滥调cut and dried, cliché
礼尚往来Courtesy calls for reciprocity.
留得青山在，不怕没柴烧"Where there is life, there is hope."
马到成功achieve immediate victory; win instant success
名利双收gain in both fame and wealth
茅塞顿开be suddenly enlightened
没有规矩不成方圆Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.
每逢佳节倍思亲
On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.
It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most.
谋事在人，成事在天"The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. / Man proposes, God disposes. "
弄巧成拙be too smart by half; Cunning outwits itself.
拿手好戏masterpiece
赔了夫人又折兵throw good money after bad
抛砖引玉a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale
破釜沉舟cut off all means of retreat；burn one‘s own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end
抢得先机take the preemptive opportunities
巧妇难为无米之炊If you have no hand you can't make a fist./ One can't make bricks without straw.
千里之行始于足下a thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step
前事不忘,后事之师Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.
前人栽树,后人乘凉One generation plants the trees in whose shade another generation rests.
One sows and another reaps.
前怕狼,后怕虎fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind/ hesitate in doing something
强龙难压地头蛇Even a dragon (from the outside) finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt - Powerful outsiders can hardly afford to neglect local bullies.
强强联手win-win co-operation
瑞雪兆丰年A timely snow promises a good harvest.
人之初,性本善Man's nature at birth is good.
人逢喜事精神爽Joy puts heart into a man.
人海战术huge-crowd strategy
世上无难事，只要肯攀登"Where there is a will, there is a way. "
世外桃源a fictitious land of peace away from the turmoil of the world;
死而后已until my heart stops beating
岁岁平安Peace all year round
上有天堂，下有苏杭"Just as there is paradise in heaven, ther are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth."
塞翁失马，焉知非福Misfortune may be an actual blessing.
三十而立"A man should be independent at the age of thirty.
At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself."
升级换代updating and upgrading (of products)
四十不惑Life begins at forty.
谁言寸草心，报得三春晖"Such kindness of warm sun, can't be repaid by grass. "
水涨船高When the river rises, the boat floats high.
时不我待Time and tide wait for no man.
杀鸡用牛刀break a butterfly on the wheel
实事求是seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts
说曹操,曹操到Talk of the devil and he comes.
实话实说speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is
实践是检验真理的唯一标准Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.
山不在高，有仙则名"No matter how high the mountain is, its name will spread far and wide if there is a fairy; "
韬光养晦hide one's capacities and bide one's time
糖衣炮弹sugar-coated bullets
天有不测风云Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue
团结就是力量Unity is strength.
跳进黄河洗不清eve if one jumped into the Yellow River, one can not wash oneself clean--there's nothing one can do to clear one's name
歪风邪气unhealthy practices and evil phenomena
物以类聚，人以群分Birds of a feather flock together.
往事如风"The past has vanished (from memory) like wind.; What in past, is past."
望子成龙hold high hopes for one's child
屋漏又逢连阴雨Misfortunes never come singly. When it rains it pours.
文韬武略military expertise; military strategy
唯利是图draw water to one's mill
无源之水,无本之木water without a source, and a tree wiithout roots
无中生有make/create something out of nothing
无风不起浪There are no waves without wind. There's no smoke without fire.
徇私枉法bend the law for the benefit of relatives or friends
新官上任三把火a new broom sweeps clean
虚心使人进步,骄傲使人落后Modesty helps one go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind.
蓄势而发accumulate strength for a take-off
心想事成May all your wish come true
心照不宣have a tacit understanding; give tacit consent; tacit understanding
先入为主First impressions are firmly entrenched.
先下手为强catch the ball before the bound
像热锅上的蚂蚁like an ant on a hot pan
现身说法warn people by taking oneself as an example
息事宁人pour oil on troubled waters
喜忧参半mingled hope and fear
循序渐进step by step
一路平安，一路顺风speed somebody on their way; speed the parting guest
严以律己,宽以待人be strict with oneself and lenient towards others
鱼米之乡a land of milk and honey
有情人终成眷属"Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well."
有钱能使鬼推磨Money makes the mare go. Money talks.
有识之士people of vision
有勇无谋use brawn rather than brain
有缘千里来相会Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.
与时俱进advance with times
以人为本people oriented; people foremost
因材施教teach students according to their aptitude
欲穷千里目，更上一层楼"to ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther; Would eye embrace a thousand miles? Go up, one flight."
欲速则不达Haste does not bring success.
优胜劣汰survival of the fittest
英雄所见略同Great minds think alike.
冤家宜解不宜结Better make friends than make enemies.
冤假错案"cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases"
一言既出，驷马难追A real man never goes back on his words.
招财进宝Money and treasures will be plentiful
债台高筑become debt-ridden
致命要害Achilles' heel
众矢之的target of public criticism
知己知彼,百战不殆Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.
纸上谈兵be an armchair strategist
纸包不住火Truth will come to light sooner or later.
左右为难between the devil and the deep blue sea; between the rock and the hard place

connie · 发表于 2004-11-3 04:57

好帖！已收藏！！！

charlotte · 发表于 2004-11-3 15:15

确实好，有时给老外朋友讲解某一个成语的时候，总是词不达意，现在有了这个贴，就可以用现成的了。谢谢！！！！

小叶子 · 发表于 2004-11-4 12:11

多谢！

阿里 · 发表于 2004-11-5 20:24

好帖

xry · 发表于 2004-11-8 09:54

excellent!

OliveOil · 发表于 2004-11-8 19:34

Great! I am gonna try to teach someone some of those!

风潇潇水潇潇 · 发表于 2004-11-10 19:31

比如。。。。马马虎虎-（horse,horse,tiger,tiger)
               人山人海-(people mountain people sea)

  哈哈~好笑把！！！

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