中英文俚语对照

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

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

losse

s

不遗余力

spare

no

effort;

go

all

out;

do

one's

best

不打不成交

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

hed

ge

between

keeps

friendship

green

老生常谈，陈词滥调

cut

and

dried,

clich

é

礼尚往来

Courtesy

calls

for

reciprocity.

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧

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

one

s

far

away.

It

is

on

the

festival

occasions

when

one

misses

his

dear

most.

谋事在人，成事在

天

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

emin

ence

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

generat

ion

rests.

One

sows

and

another

reaps.

< br>前怕狼

,

后怕

虎

fear

the

wolf

in

front

and

the

tiger

behind/

hesitate

in

doi

ng

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

there

is

a

will,

there

is

a

way.

世外桃

源

a

fictitious

land

of

peace

away

from

the

turmoil

of

the

worl

d;

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

as

there

is

paradise

in

heaven,

ther

are

Suzhou

and

Ha

ngzhou

on

earth.

塞翁失马，焉知非福

Misfortune

may

be

an

actual

blessing.

三十而立

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

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