1 lit. like a three-meter high monk, you can't rub his head (idiom)
2 fig. at a total loss
三个和尚没水喝
sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē
1 lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
2 fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
三十而立
sān shí ér lì
1 thirty years old and therefore independent (idiom, from Confucius)
三思而后行
sān sī ér hòu xíng
1 think again and again before acting (idiom); consider carefully in advance
三思而行
sān sī ér xíng
1 think three times then go (idiom); don't act before you've thought it through carefully
不劳而获
bù láo ér huò
1 to reap without sowing (idiom)
不可同日而语
bù kě tóng rì ér yǔ
1 lit. mustn't speak of two things on the same day (idiom); not to be mentioned in the same breath
2 incomparable
不患寡而患不均
bù huàn guǎ ér huàn bù jūn
1 do not worry about scarcity, but rather about uneven distribution (idiom, from Analects)
不约而同
bù yuē ér tóng
1 to agree by chance (idiom); taking the same action without prior consultation
乘虚而入
chéng xū ér rù
1 to enter by exploiting a weak spot (idiom); to take advantage of a lapse
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!