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
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
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1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
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2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
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3 it's all Greek to me
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
一通百通
yī tōng bǎi tōng
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1 grasp this fundamental point and all the rest will follow (idiom)
三下两下
sān xià liǎng xià
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1 quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
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1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
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2 fig. conspiring to defraud
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
上有天堂,下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
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1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
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2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
上有政策,下有对策
shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè
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1 The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
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1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
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2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
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3 sandwich generation
上梁不正下梁歪
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
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1 lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices
上气不接下气
shàng qì bù jiē xià qì
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1 out of breath (idiom)
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2 to gasp for air
上行下效
shàng xíng xià xiào
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1 subordinates follow the example of their superiors (idiom)
不愧下学
bù kuì xià xué
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1 not ashamed to learn from subordinates (idiom)
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)
世风日下
shì fēng rì xià
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1 public morals are degenerating with each passing day (idiom)
串通一气
chuàn tōng yī qì
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1 to act in collusion (idiom)