Chinese allegories
歇后語
Two-part allegorical saying (of which the first part, always stated, is descriptive, while the second part, often unstated, carries the message)
shí w? ge diào t?ng d? shuǐ – qī shàng bā xià
十五個吊桶打水 – 七上八下
Have one's heart clang like fifteen buckets in one well, seven going up and eight going down – have one's heart pound with uncertainty, fear or turmoil
niú tóu bù duì m? zu? – hú lā luàn ch?
牛頭不對馬嘴 – 胡拉亂扯
Horses' jaws don't match cows' heads – incongruous; irrelevant
zhàng èr hé shang – mō bu zháo tóu n?o
丈二和尚 – 摸不著頭腦
You cannot touch the head of a ten-foot monk. – can't make head or tail of something; completely fail to understand
yī ge bā zhang pāi bu xi?ng – gū zh?ng nán míng
一個巴掌拍不響 – 孤掌難鳴
You can't clap with one hand; it takes two to make a quarrel; it takes two to tango. – It's difficult to achieve anything without support.
zhēn jiān duì mài máng – zhēn fēng xiāng duì
針尖對麥芒 – 針鋒相對
A pin against an awn – be diametrically opposed
wén zi zh?o zhī zhū – zì tóu luó w?ng
蚊子找蜘蛛 – 自投羅網
A mosquito looks for a spider – throw oneself into a trap; bite the hook
chū shēng de niú dú – bù pà h?
初生的牛犢 – 不怕虎
New born calves are not afraid of tigers. – Young people dare do anything and fear nothing.
tiān xià wū yā – yī bān hēi
天下烏鴉 – 一般黑
All crows are black. – Evil people are the same all over the world; in every country dogs bite.
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