1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
一本万利
yī běn wàn lì
1 small capital, huge profit (idiom); to put in a little and get a lot out
一生一世
yī shēng yī shì
1 a whole lifetime (idiom); all my life
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
1 in groups of three or four (idiom)
三令五申
sān lìng wǔ shēn
1 to order again and again (idiom)
三番五次
sān fān wǔ cì
1 over and over again (idiom)
三纲五常
sān gāng wǔ cháng
1 three principles and five virtues (idiom)
2 the three rules (ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and five constant virtues of Confucianism (benevolence 仁, righteousness 義|义, propriety 禮|礼, wisdom 智 and fidelity 信)
世上无难事,只怕有心人
shì shàng wú nán shì , zhǐ pà yǒu xīn rén
1 there is nothing the determined person can't accomplish (idiom)
2 persistence will overcome
世代相传
shì dài xiāng chuán
1 passed on from generation to generation (idiom); to hand down
世态炎凉
shì tài yán liáng
1 the hypocrisy of the world (idiom)
世风日下
shì fēng rì xià
1 public morals are degenerating with each passing day (idiom)
五十步笑百步
wǔ shí bù xiào bǎi bù
1 the one who has retreated 50 steps laughs at the one who has retreated 100 steps (idiom)
2 the pot calls the kettle black
五味俱全
wǔ wèi jù quán
1 a complete gamut of all five flavors (idiom); every flavor under the sun
五味杂陈
wǔ wèi zá chén
1 with complex feelings (idiom)
五彩缤纷
wǔ cǎi bīn fēn
1 all the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
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)
五色缤纷
wǔ sè bīn fēn
1 all the colors in profusion (idiom); a garish display
五体投地
wǔ tǐ tóu dì
1 to prostrate oneself in admiration (idiom); to adulate sb
五鬼闹判
wǔ guǐ nào pàn
1 Five ghosts mock the judge, or Five ghosts resist judgment (title of folk opera, idiom); important personage mobbed by a crowd of ne'er-do-wells
人生一世,草木一春
rén shēng yī shì , cǎo mù yī chūn
1 Man has but one life, grass but one spring (idiom). fig. the brevity of human existence
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