2 fig. things are (or ought to be) perfectly clear-cut
3 unequivocal
一身是胆
yī shēn shì dǎn
1 devoid of fear (idiom)
2 intrepid
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
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)
不是一家人不进一家门
bù shì yī jiā rén bù jìn yī jiā mén
1 people who don't belong together, don't get to live together (idiom)
2 marriages are predestined
3 people marry because they share common traits
不是冤家不聚头
bù shì yuān jiā bù jù tóu
1 destiny will make enemies meet (idiom)
2 (often said about lovers who have a disagreement)
不是鱼死就是网破
bù shì yú sǐ jiù shì wǎng pò
1 lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom)
2 fig. it's a life-and-death struggle
3 it's either him or me
不计其数
bù jì qí shù
1 lit. their number cannot be counted (idiom); fig. countless
2 innumerable
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)
人是铁饭是钢
rén shì tiě fàn shì gāng
1 one can't function properly on an empty stomach (idiom)
2 an empty sack cannot stand upright
以儆效尤
yǐ jǐng xiào yóu
1 in order to warn against following bad examples (idiom)
2 as a warning to others
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
似是而非
sì shì ér fēi
1 apparently right but actually wrong; specious (idiom)
俯拾皆是
fǔ shí jiē shì
1 lit. so numerous that one could just bend down and pick them up (idiom)
2 fig. extremely common
3 easily available
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
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