常用汉语成语的英语翻译

常用汉语成语的英语翻译

1.爱屋及乌 Love me, love my dog.

2.百闻不如一见 Seeing is believing.

3.比上不足比下有余 worse off than some, better off than many; to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst.

4.笨鸟先飞 A slow sparrow should make an early start.

5.不眠之夜 white night

6.不以物喜不以己悲 not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personnal losses

7.不遗余力 spare no effort; go all out; do one's best

8.不打不成交 No discord, no concord.

9.拆东墙补西墙 rob Peter to pay Paul

10.辞旧迎新 bid farewell to the old and usher in the new; ring out the old year and ring in the new

11.大事化小小事化了 try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all

12.大开眼界 open one's eyes; broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener

13.国泰民安 The country flourishes and people live in peace

14.过犹不及 going too far is as bad as not going far enough; beyond is as wrong as falling short; too much is as bad as too little

15.功夫不负有心人 Everything comes to him who waits.

16.好了伤疤忘了疼 once on shore, one prays no more

17.好事不出门恶事传千里 Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spread far and wide.

18.和气生财 Harmony brings wealth.

19.活到老学到老 One is never too old to learn.

20.既往不咎 let bygones be bygones


21.金无足赤人无完人 Gold can't be pure and man can't be perfect.

22.金玉满堂 Treasures fill the home.

23.脚踏实地 be down-to-earth


24.脚踩两只船 sit on the fence

25.君子之交淡如水 the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as crystal; a hedge between keeps friendship green

26.老生常谈陈词滥调 cut and dried, cliché

27.礼尚往来 Courtesy calls for reciprocity.

28.留得青山在不怕没柴烧 Where there is life, there is hope.

29.马到成功 achieve immediate victory; win instant success

30.名利双收 gain in both fame and wealth

31.茅塞顿开 be suddenly enlightened

32.没有规矩不成方圆 Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.


33.每逢佳节倍思亲 On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most.

34.谋事在人成事在天 The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. Man proposes, God disposes.

35.弄巧成拙 be too smart by half; Cunning outwits itself


36.拿手好戏 masterpiece

37.赔了夫人又折兵 throw good money after bad

38.抛砖引玉 a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale

39.破釜沉舟 cut off all means of retreat；burn one‘s own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end

40.抢得先机 take the preemptive opportunities

41.巧

妇难为无米之炊 If you have no hand you can't make a fist. One can't make bricks without straw.

42.千里之行始于足下 a thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step

43.前事不忘后事之师 Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.

44.前人栽树后人乘凉 One generation plants the trees in whose shade another generation rests.One sows and another reaps.

45.前怕狼后怕虎 fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind hesitate in doing something

46.强龙难压地头蛇 Even a dragon (from the outside) finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt - Powerful outsiders can hardly afford to neglect local bullies.

47.强强联手 win-win co-operation

48.瑞雪兆丰年 A timely snow promises a good harvest.

49.人之初性本善 Man's nature at birth is good.

50.人逢喜事精神爽 Joy puts heart into a man.

51.人海战术 huge-crowd strategy

52.世上无难事只要肯攀登 Where there is a will, there is a way.


53.世外桃源 a fictitious land of peace away from the turmoil of the world;

54.死而后已 until my heart stops beating

55.岁岁平安 Peace all year round.

56.上有天堂下有苏杭 Just as there is paradise in heaven, ther are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth.

57.塞翁失马焉知非福 Misfortune may be an actual blessing.

58.三十而立 A man should be independent at the age of thirty.At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself.

59.升级换代 updating and upgrading (of products)

60.四十不惑 Life begins at forty.

61.谁言寸草心报得三春晖 Such kindness of warm sun, can't be repaid by grass.

62.水涨船高 When the river rises, the boat floats high.

秀才不出门能知天下事 A scholor does not step outside his gate, yet he knows the happenings under the sun.

事实胜于雄辩 Facts are most convincing.

来得容易去得快 Easy come, easy go.

金玉其外败絮其中 All that glitters is not gold.

兔子不吃窝边草 The fox preys farthest from his hole.

若要人不知除非己莫为 If you would not be known to do anything, never do it.

没有笑脸不出门 A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.

虎父无虎子 Like father, like son.

往者不可谏，来者犹可追 A mill cannot grind with the water that is past.

姻缘天注定 Marriages are made in heaven.

逆来顺受 to make the best of a bad bargain

流芳百世 a niche in the temple of fame

为虎作伥 to act as guide to a tiger

孤注一掷 to put all one's egg in one basket

勇者不惧 A brave man will not shrink from dangers.

洗心革面 to turn over a new leaf

美中不足 a fly in the ointment

背道而驰 to run counter

走汤蹈火 to go through fire and water

风烛残年 to have one foot in the grave

风声鹤唳，草木皆兵 to apprehend danger in e

very sound

活到老学到老 It's never too late to learn./ Live and learn.

前事不忘后事之师 Remember the past and it will guide your future.

星星之火可以燎原 A single spark can start a prairie fire.

待人宽容如待己 Live and let live.

按部就班 Learn to walk before you run.

病从口入祸从口出 Illness comes in by mouth and comes out by it.

笑?藏刀 a smile to hide one's hate

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧 Where there's life there's hope

海底捞月 to fish in the air

海底捞针 to look for a needle in a bundle of hay

差之毫厘失之千里 A miss is as good as a mile

既往不咎 Let the dead bury their dead.

杀身成仁 to sacrifice one's life to preserve one's virtue complete

杀鸡焉用牛刀 Take not a musket to kill a butterfly

饥不择食 A good appetite is a good sauce.

害群之马 black sheep

家丑不可外扬 Don't wash your dirty linen in public.

恩威并济 alternate weakness with severity

旁观者清 The outside sees the best of the game.

时运不济 to have a bad time

殊途同归 All roads lead to Rome .

众志成城/团结就是力量 Union is strenth.

疾风知劲草 Adversity reveals genius.

旁观者清，当局者迷 Lookers-on see most of the game.

莫在太岁头上动土 Let sleeping dogs lie.

得意忘形 to leap out of one's skin

捷足先登 The early bird catches the worm.

欲速则不达 Haste makes waste

欲速则不达 More haste, less speed.

混水摸鱼 to fish in troubled waters

贪小失大 penny-wise and poundfoolish

习惯成自然 once a use forever a custom

挂羊头卖狗肉 cry up wine and sell vinegar

贫无立锥之地 as poor as a church mouse

雪中送炭真君子/患难见真情 A friend in need is a friend indeed.

异想天开 to give loose to one's fancy

集思广义 Two heads are better than one.

得过且过 to live from hand to mouth

情人眼?出西施 Love is blind.

冤家宜解不宜结 Better remove enmity than contract it.

眼不见为净 Out of sight, out of mind.

胜不骄败不馁 to be not elated by success nor disturbed by failure

富贵在天 Riches and honors come from heaven.

智者不惑 A wise man is free from perplexities.

无风不起浪 There is no smoke without fire. (Where there is smoke, there is fire.)

画蛇添足 to paint the lily

趁火打劫 to fish in troubled waters

量入为出 to cut one's coat according to one's cloth/ make both ends meet

阳奉阴违 ostensible obedience

跑了和尚跑不了庙 The monk may run away, but the temple can't run with him.

万物之灵 the lords of creation

万事开头难 Everything is difficult at the start

万无一失 not a single miss in a thousand times.

落井下石 to hit a person when he's down

隔墙有耳 Pitchers have ears; walls have ears.

开夜车 Burn th

e midnight oil.

损人利己 to enrich oneself at others expense

置之死地而后生 Put the troops in death ground and they will live.

道高一尺魔高一丈 While the priest climbs a foot, the devil climbs ten.

预防胜于治疗 Prevention is better than cure.

新官上任三把火 New brooms sweep clean.

塞翁失马焉知非福 Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise.

路遥知马力日久见人心 A distant journey tests the strength of a horse and a long task proves the character of a man.

沧海一栗 a drop in the bucket

盖棺论定 Judge none blessed before his death.

岁月不饶人 Time and tide wait for no man.

经验即良师 Experience is the teacher.

寿终正寝 to die a natural death (to die in one's bed)

寡不击众 There is no contending against odds.

对牛弹琴 to cast pearls before swine

祸不单行 Misfortunes never come single.

饱食终日无所事事 to eat the bread of idleness

慷他人之慨 to be free with other's money

远亲不如近邻 Distant kinsmen mean less than close neighbors. / A near neighbor is better than a distant cousin.

种瓜得瓜种豆得豆 You must reap what you have sown. / As you sow, so shall you reap.

乐极生悲 After joy comes sadness.

说曹操到曹操就到 Talk of the devil and the devil comes.

团结就是力量 Union is strength.

需要为发明之母 Necessity is the mother of invention.

满招损，谦受益 Haughtiness invites ruin; humility receives benefits.

恶有恶报 He that does evil shall find evil.

恶事传千里 Bad news travels quickly.

熟能生巧 Practice makes perfect.

缓兵之计 a fabian policy

缘木求鱼 to get water from a flint

适者生存 the survival of the fittest

穷寇莫追 A cornered animal is a dangerous foe.

积少成多 Every little makes a mickle.

积少成多 Every little helps.

钱可通神 Money can move even the gods.

谋事在人成事在天 Man proposes and God disposes.

学问无快捷方式 There is no royal road/shortcut to learning.

机不可失 Opportunity seldom knocks twice.

优胜劣败 The weakest goes to the wall.

声东击西 to look one way and row another

脍炙人口 in everyone's mouth

螳臂挡车 to kick against the pricks

鞠躬尽瘁 to give the last measure of devotion

聪明反被聪明误 to suffer for one's wisdom

旧调重谈 to harp on the same string

礼尚往来 Courtesy on one side cannot last long.

礼多必诈 full of courtesy, full of craft

覆水难收 What's done cannot be undone.

转石不生苔 A rolling stone gathers no moss.

转败为胜 to convert defeat into victory

鞭长莫及 beyond one's grasp

关公门前耍大刀 There's no need to teach a fish to swim.

严以责己宽以待人 to be severe with oneself and lenient with others

铁石心肠 a heart of steel

听天由命 to

be guided by destiny

骄者必败 Pride goes before a fall.