一人得道,鸡犬升天
yī rén dé dào , jī quǎn shēng tiān
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1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
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2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
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3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
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4 Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
一反常态
yī fǎn cháng tài
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1 complete change from the normal state (idiom); quite uncharacteristic
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2 entirely outside the norm
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3 out of character
一语道破
yī yǔ dào pò
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1 one word says it all (idiom)
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2 to hit the nail on the head
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3 to be pithy and correct
不足为外人道
bù zú wéi wài rén dào
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1 no use to tell others
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2 let's keep this between ourselves (idiom)
人往高处走,水往低处流
rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú
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1 man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom)
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2 one should constantly strive to make progress
仁义道德
rén yì dào dé
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1 compassion, duty, propriety and integrity (idiom); all the traditional virtues
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2 mainly used sarcastically, to mean hypocritical
付之东流
fù zhī dōng liú
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1 to commit to the waters (idiom); to lose sth irrevocably
以其人之道,还治其人之身
yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn
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1 to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
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2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine
你走你的阳关道,我过我的独木桥
nǐ zǒu nǐ de Yáng guān Dào , wǒ guò wǒ de dú mù qiáo
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1 lit. you hit the high road, I'll cross the log bridge (idiom)
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2 fig. you go your way, I'll go mine
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3 you do it your way, I'll do it mine
假道伐虢
jiǎ dào fá Guó
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1 to obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo
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2 to borrow the resources of an ally to attack a common enemy (idiom)
传道受业
chuán dào shòu yè
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1 to teach (idiom); lit. to give moral and practical instruction
出尔反尔
chū ěr fǎn ěr
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1 old: to reap the consequences of one's words (idiom, from Mencius); modern: to go back on one's word
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2 to blow hot and cold
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3 to contradict oneself
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4 inconsistent
分道扬镳
fēn dào yáng biāo
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1 lit. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom)
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2 fig. to part ways
卑卑不足道
bēi bēi bù zú dào
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1 to be too petty or insignificant to mention
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2 to not be worth mentioning (idiom)
反唇相讥
fǎn chún xiāng jī
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1 to answer back sarcastically (idiom)
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2 to retort
反客为主
fǎn kè wéi zhǔ
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1 lit. the guest acts as host (idiom); fig. to turn from passive to active behavior
反败为胜
fǎn bài wéi shèng
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1 to turn defeat into victory (idiom); to turn the tide
反目成仇
fǎn mù chéng chóu
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1 to become enemies (idiom); to fall out with sb
反脸无情
fǎn liǎn wú qíng
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1 to turn one's face against sb and show no mercy (idiom); to turn against a friend
反裘负刍
fǎn qiú fù chú
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1 lit. to wear one's coat inside out and carry firewood on one's back (idiom)
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2 fig. to live a life of poverty and hard work
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3 fig. to act stupidly