生活中常用成语 英文翻译
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草绳 Once bitten, twice shy.
一言既出，驷马难追 A word spoken is past recalling.
工欲善其事，必先利其器 You cannot make bricks without straw.
一箭双雕 Kill two birds with one stone.
一寸光阴一寸金 Time is money.
一失足成千古恨 The error committed on impulse may turn out to be the sorrow of a whole life.
一将功名万古枯 What millions died that Caesar might be great.
一年之计在于春，一日之计在于晨 Plan your year in spring and your day at dawn.
亡羊补牢 Better late than never./ It's never too late to mend.
只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针 Little strokes fell great oaks.
一气呵成 Never make two bites of a cherry.
吃得苦中苦，方为人上人 If you wish to be the best man, you must be prepared to suffer the bitterest of the bitter.
九死一生 to have a hair-breadth escape
人生如梦 Life is but a dream.
人生自古谁无死 Death comes to all men.
人生百岁古来稀 It is seldom that a man lives to be a hundred years old.
人定胜天 Man can conquer nature.
人不可貌相 Appearances are often deceptive./ Never judge a look by its cover.
十年风水轮流转 Every dog has its day.
三思而后行 Look before you leap.
三句不离本行 to talk shop
三个臭皮匠胜过一个诸葛亮 Two heads are better than one.
千钧一发 to hang by a hair thread
大智若愚 He who canot play the fool is not a wise man.
大器晚成 Rome was not built in a day.
山穷水尽 at the end of one's resources
山中无老虎，猴子称大王 Among the blind the one-eyed is king./When the cat's away, the mice will pay.
小题大做 Make a mountain out of a molehill.
小洞不补，大来吃苦 A stitch in time saves nine.
小不忍则乱大谋 Patience is a virtue.
不要厚此薄彼 Don't make fish of one and flesh of another.
不畏艰难 Take the bull by the horns.
不要不自量力 Don't put a quarter into a pint pot.
己所不欲勿施于人 Do unto others as you would be done.
仁者无敌 The benevolent have no enemy.
工欲善其事必先利器 You cannot make bricks without straw.
不告而别 to take French leave
不要不自量力 Don't put a quarter into a pint pot.
不要厚此薄彼 Don't make fish of one and flesh of another.
不畏艰难 Take the bull by the horns.
不战而屈人之兵 The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
不入虎穴焉得虎子 How can one obtain tiger-cubs without entering the tiger's lair.
不经一事，不长一智 Experience is the mother of wisdom.
少年老成 to have an old head on young shoulders
天无绝人之路 God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.
天下乌鸦一般黑 Crows are black all over the world.
天无绝人之路 God tempers
the wind to the shorn lamb./ When one door shuts another opens.
天助自助者 Heaven helps those who help themselves.
天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福 It is the unexpected that always happens.
毛遂自荐 to recommend one's own person
心正不怕雷打 A good conscience is a soft pillow.
化干戈为玉帛 Bury the tomahwak(hatchet).
仁者无敌 The benevolent have no enemy.
今日事今日毕 Never put off till tomorrow what may be done today.
文胜于武 The pen is mightier than the sword.
以身作则 to practice what one practices
以毒攻毒 to set a thief to catch a thief
以怨报德 to bite the hand that feeds one
以逸待劳 To wait at ease till the enemy is exhausted.
以寡敌众 to fight against longer odds
以德报怨 to render good for evil
以其人之道还治其人之身 Set a thief to catch a thief.
以子之矛，攻子之盾 to turn a person's battery against himself
四大皆空 All is vanity.
四海之内皆兄弟 All are brothers within the four seas.
未雨绸缪 to save against a rainy day
目不识丁 not know A from B
失败为成功之母 Failure is the mother of success.
失之毫厘，差之千里 A miss is as good as a mile.
毛遂自荐 to recommend one's own person
打落水狗 to hit a person when he's down
打铁趁热 Strike while the iron is hot.
犯错是人之常情，宽恕是超凡的 To err is human; to forgive divine.
任劳任怨 to bear hardship without complaint
自作自受 As you make your bed so you must lie on it.
自讨苦吃 to make a rod for one's own back
自力更生 to shift for oneself
自扫门前雪 After us the deluge.
回头浪子 the return of a prodigal
先下手为强 Offence is the best defence.
同甘共苦 to share one's joys and sorrows
因地制宜 act according to circumstances
有勇无谋 more brave than wise
有备无患 Good watch prevents misfortune.
有志者事竟成 Where there is a will, there is a way.
有钱能使鬼推磨 Money makes the world go around. /Money talks.
江山易改本性难移 The child is father of the man.
百无一失 Not a single miss in a hundred times.
百闻不如一见 To see is to believe. (Seeing is believing.)
每人一生中皆有得意之日 Every dog has his day.
色是假，美是空 Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty.
吉人自有天相 The good are protected by Heaven. / All's wel that ends well.
如人饮水冷暖自知 Only the wearer knows where the shoes pain.
吃得苦中苦，方为人上人 No gain without pain.
弄巧成拙 Overreach oneself; overshoot oneself; overshoot the mark
忍无可忍 to be at the end of one's patience
忍一时之气免百日之忧 patience for a moment; comfort for many years
忘恩负义 to kick down the ladder
走马看花 a flying visit
防患于未然 to nip a thing in the bud
佛要金装，人要衣装 Fine feathers make fine birds.
兵精不必多 Too many cooks spoil the broth.
身在福中不知福 The worth of a thing is best known by the want of it.
你敬我一尺，我回你一丈 You scratch my back, and I will sratch yours.
别狗咬吕洞宾，不识好人心 Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
志在千里 Hitch your wagon to a star.
奇装异服 a fantastic garb
忠言逆耳 Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear
明辨是非 to distinguish right from wrong
知足常乐 Happy is he who is content
知足者富 He who feels contented is rich
知人知面不知心 It's easy to know men's faces, but not their hearts.
知己知彼百战百胜 Know your enemy and know yourself.
空中楼阁 castles in the air
金科玉律 the gold rule
奇装异服 a fantastic garb
明辨事非 to distinguish right fromwrong
雨后春笋 like bamboo shoots after a spring shower
雨过天青 After a storm comes a calm.
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 every 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.
笑里藏刀 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
情人眼里出西施 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 the midnight oil.
损人利己 to enrich oneself at others expense
置之死地而后生 Put the trxx 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.
学问无捷径 There is no royal road/shortcut to learning.
机不可失 Opportunity seldo 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.