一个天南,一个地北
yī ge tiān nán , yī ge dì běi
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1 to live miles apart (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
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1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
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2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
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3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一败涂地
yī bài tú dì
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1 failed and wiped over the floor (idiom); to fail utterly
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2 a crushing defeat
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3 beaten and in a hopeless position
上天入地
shàng tiān rù dì
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1 lit. to go up to heaven or down to Hades (idiom)
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2 fig. to go to great lengths
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3 to search heaven and earth
上天无路,入地无门
shàng tiān wú lù , rù dì wú mén
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1 lit. there is no road to the sky, nor door into the earth (idiom)
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2 fig. to be at the end of one's rope
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3 to be trapped in a hopeless situation
不看僧面看佛面
bù kàn sēng miàn kàn fó miàn
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1 lit. not for the monk's sake but for the Buddha's sake (idiom)
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2 fig. (to do sth for sb) out of deference to sb else
不识泰山
bù shí Tài Shān
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1 can't recognize Mt Taishan (idiom); fig. not to recognize a famous person
不显山不露水
bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ
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1 lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
五体投地
wǔ tǐ tóu dì
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1 to prostrate oneself in admiration (idiom); to adulate sb
人杰地灵
rén jié dì líng
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1 illustrious hero, spirit of the place (idiom); a place derives reflected glory from an illustrious son
人间地狱
rén jiān dì yù
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1 hell on earth (idiom); suffering the torments of Buddhist hell while still alive
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2 fig. having an uncomfortable time
他山之石可以攻玉
tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù
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1 lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside
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2 to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively
佛口蛇心
fó kǒu shé xīn
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1 words of a Buddha, heart of a snake (idiom); two-faced
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2 malicious and duplicitous
借花献佛
jiè huā xiàn Fó
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1 lit. presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers (idiom); fig. to win favor or influence using sb else's property
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2 plagiarism
兵败如山倒
bīng bài rú shān dǎo
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1 troops in defeat like a landslide (idiom); a beaten army in total collapse
出人头地
chū rén tóu dì
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1 to stand out among one's peers (idiom)
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2 to excel
刀山火海
dāo shān huǒ hǎi
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1 lit. mountains of daggers and seas of flames
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2 fig. extreme danger (idiom)
名落孙山
míng luò Sūn Shān
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1 lit. to fall behind Sun Shan 孫山|孙山[Sūn Shān] (who came last in the imperial examination) (idiom)
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2 fig. to fail an exam
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3 to fall behind (in a competition)
因地制宜
yīn dì zhì yí
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1 (idiom) to use methods in line with local circumstances
地久天长
dì jiǔ tiān cháng
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1 enduring while the world lasts (idiom, from Laozi); eternal
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2 for ever and ever (of friendship, hate etc)
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3 also written 天長地久|天长地久