1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
1 in groups of three or four (idiom)
三令五申
sān lìng wǔ shēn
1 to order again and again (idiom)
三番五次
sān fān wǔ cì
1 over and over again (idiom)
三纲五常
sān gāng wǔ cháng
1 three principles and five virtues (idiom)
2 the three rules (ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and five constant virtues of Confucianism (benevolence 仁, righteousness 義|义, propriety 禮|礼, wisdom 智 and fidelity 信)
二虎相斗,必有一伤
èr hǔ xiāng dòu , bì yǒu yī shāng
1 lit. when two tigers fight, one is sure to be wounded (idiom)
2 fig. if it comes to a fight, someone will get hurt
五十步笑百步
wǔ shí bù xiào bǎi bù
1 the one who has retreated 50 steps laughs at the one who has retreated 100 steps (idiom)
2 the pot calls the kettle black
五味俱全
wǔ wèi jù quán
1 a complete gamut of all five flavors (idiom); every flavor under the sun
五味杂陈
wǔ wèi zá chén
1 with complex feelings (idiom)
五彩缤纷
wǔ cǎi bīn fēn
1 all the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
五百年前是一家
wǔ bǎi nián qián shì yī jiā
1 five hundred years ago we were the same family (idiom) (said of persons with the same surname)
五色缤纷
wǔ sè bīn fēn
1 all the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
五体投地
wǔ tǐ tóu dì
1 to prostrate oneself in admiration (idiom); to adulate sb
五鬼闹判
wǔ guǐ nào pàn
1 Five ghosts mock the judge, or Five ghosts resist judgment (title of folk opera, idiom); important personage mobbed by a crowd of ne'er-do-wells
人不可貌相,海水不可斗量
rén bù kě mào xiàng , hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng
1 you can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot (idiom)
伸手不见五指
shēn shǒu bù jiàn wǔ zhǐ
1 pitch-dark (idiom)
两虎相斗
liǎng hǔ xiāng dòu
1 two tigers fight (idiom); fig. a dispute between two powerful adversaries
2 a battle of the giants
两虎相斗,必有一伤
liǎng hǔ xiāng dòu , bì yǒu yī shāng
1 when two tigers fight, one will get injured (idiom)
2 if it comes to a fight, someone will get hurt.
勾心斗角
gōu xīn dòu jiǎo
1 to fight and scheme against each other (idiom)
2 (in palace construction) elaborate and refined
升斗小民
shēng dǒu xiǎo mín
1 poor people (idiom)
2 those who live from hand to mouth
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