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成语
班门弄斧
Showing off
one
’
s proficiency with the
axe before Lu Ban the
master carpenter
杯弓蛇影
Mistaking
the reflection of a bow for a snake
闭门造车
Building a cart behind
closed doors
病入膏肓
The disease has
attacked the vitals
草木皆兵
every bush and tree
looks like an enemy
吹毛求疵
Blow apart the hairs
upon a fur to discover any defect
打草惊蛇
Beating the grass and
flushing out the snake
调虎离山
Luring the tiger out of
the mountains
东施效颦
Aping the
Beauty
’
s frown
对牛弹琴
Playing the lute to a
cow
负荆请罪
Bringing the birch and asking for flogging
功亏一篑
Running an
enterprise for the lack of one basketful
故步自封
Content
with staying where one is
含沙射影
spitting sand on a
shadow-attacking by insinuation
狐假虎威
Basking in reflected
glory
囫囵吞枣
Gulping down a whole date
画饼充饥
Allaying hunger with
pictures of cakes
画龙点睛
Putting the finishing
touch to the picture of a dragon
画蛇添足
Drawing a snake and
adding feet
惊弓之鸟
Birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring
精卫填海
Jing Wei
fills up the sea
井底之蛙
A frog in a well
刻舟求剑
Notching
the boat to find the sword
空中楼阁
A castle in the air
滥竽充数
Passing
oneself off as a member of the orchestra
狼狈为奸
A wolf
working hand in glove with a jackal
老马识途
An old horse knows the
way
梁上君子
A
gentleman on the beam
临渴掘井
Not digging a well
until one is thirsty
满城风雨
A storm enveloping the
city
盲人摸象
Blind
men touching an elephant
毛遂自荐
Mao Sui recommending
himself
门庭若市
A
courtyard as crowded as a marketplace
名落孙山
Failing to pass an
examination
南辕北辙
Going south by driving the chariot north
怒发冲冠
So angry
that one's hair lifts up
one
’
s hat
披荆斩棘
Breaking open a way
through brambles and thorns
蚍蜉撼树
An ant trying to shake
a big tree
破釜沉舟
Smashing the cauldrons and sinking the boats
破镜重圆
A broken
mirror made whole again
骑虎难下
When one rides a tiger,
it is hard to dismount
杞人忧天
The man of Qi who
worried that the sky would fall
黔驴技穷
The Guizhou donkey has
exhausted its tricks
日暮途穷
The day is
waning and the road is ending
如火如荼
Like a raging fire
如鱼得水
To feel
just like a fish in water
入木三分
To enter three-tenths
of an inch into the timber
塞翁失马
The old man of frontier
lost his horse
三顾茅庐
paying three visits to
the cottage
三人成虎
repeat a lie enough times and it will be believed
丧家之犬
A homeless
dog
杀鸡吓猴
Killing
the chicken to frighten the monkeys
甚嚣尘上
Making a great clamor
势如破竹
Like
splitting bamboo
世外桃源
A heaven of peace and
happiness
手不释卷
Always with a book in hand
守株待兔
Sitting by a stump,
waiting for a careless hare
蜀犬吠日
A Sichuan dog barks at
the sun.
束之高阁
Putting it on a high shelf
水落石出
when the water ebbs,
stones will appear
四面楚歌
songs of Chu on all
sides
谈虎色变
Turn
pale at the mention of a tiger
昙花一现
A flower that vanishes
as soon as it appears
螳臂当车
A mantis trying to halt
a chariot
天花乱坠
As if it were raining flowers