1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
4 Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
一无所有
yī wú suǒ yǒu
1 not having anything at all (idiom); utterly lacking
2 without two sticks to rub together
一无所知
yī wú suǒ zhī
1 not knowing anything at all (idiom); completely ignorant
2 without an inkling
一举两得
yī jǔ liǎng dé
1 one move, two gains (idiom); two birds with one stone
一蹴而得
yī cù ér dé
1 to get there in one step (idiom); easily done
2 success at a stroke
3 to get results overnight
三缄其口
sān jiān qí kǒu
1 (idiom) reluctant to speak about it
2 tight-lipped
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
2 fig. conspiring to defraud
上不得台盘
shàng bù dé tái pán
1 too uncouth to appear in public (idiom)
2 unfit for a public role
不入虎穴,焉得虎子
bù rù hǔ xué , yān dé hǔ zǐ
1 How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair? (idiom); Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
不胜其苦
bù shèng qí kǔ
1 unable to bear the pain (idiom)
不厌其烦
bù yàn qí fán
1 not to mind taking all the trouble (idiom)
2 to take great pains
3 to be very patient
不安其室
bù ān qí shì
1 to be discontented with one's home
2 to have adulterous relations after marriage (of women) (idiom)
不知所措
bù zhī suǒ cuò
1 not knowing what to do (idiom); at one's wits' end
2 embarrassed and at a complete loss
不计其数
bù jì qí shù
1 lit. their number cannot be counted (idiom); fig. countless
2 innumerable
以其人之道,还治其人之身
yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn
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
2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine
任其自然
rèn qí zì rán
1 to let things take their course (idiom)
2 to leave it to nature
3 laissez-faire
来得容易,去得快
lái de róng yì , qù de kuài
1 Easy come, easy go. (idiom)
优游自得
yōu yóu zì dé
1 free and at leisure (idiom); unfettered
兄弟阋于墙,外御其侮
xiōng dì xì yú qiáng , wài yù qí wǔ
1 internal disunity dissolves at the threat of an invasion from outside (idiom)
两全其美
liǎng quán qí měi
1 to satisfy rival demands (idiom)
2 to get the best of both worlds
3 to have it both ways
4 to have one's cake and eat it too
Sample Sentences
Free for members
Build your personal vocabulary!
With ChinesePod, you can not only build your vocabulary but also practice Chinese characters in our writing app!