一人得道，鸡犬升天
yī rén dé dào , jī quǎn shēng tiān
-
1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
-
2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
-
3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
-
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
-
1 to live miles apart (idiom)
一失足成千古恨
yī shī zú chéng qiān gǔ hèn
-
1 a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
-
1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
-
2 stuck in a rut
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
-
1 worthless (idiom)
-
2 no use whatsoever
一柱擎天
yī zhù qíng tiān
-
1 lit. to support the sky as a single pillar (idiom)
-
2 fig. to take a crucial responsibility upon one's shoulders
一步登天
yī bù dēng tiān
-
1 reaching heaven in a single bound (idiom); (esp. with negative: don't expect) instant success
一纸空文
yī zhǐ kōng wén
-
1 a worthless piece of paper (idiom)
一语成谶
yī yǔ chéng chèn
-
1 (idiom) to have one's words turn out to be (tragically) prophetic
一雨成秋
yī yǔ chéng qiū
-
1 a sudden shower towards the end of summer brings an abrupt arrival of autumn (idiom)
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
-
1 in groups of three or four (idiom)
三人成虎
sān rén chéng hǔ
-
1 three men talking makes a tiger (idiom); repeated rumor becomes a fact
三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮
sān gè chòu pí jiang , hé chéng yī gè Zhū gě Liàng
-
1 lit. three ignorant cobblers add up to a genius (idiom); fig. collective wisdom
三天不打，上房揭瓦
sān tiān bù dǎ , shàng fáng jiē wǎ
-
1 three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip the tiles (idiom)
-
2 spare the rod, spoil the child
三天两头
sān tiān liǎng tóu
-
1 lit. twice every three days (idiom); practically every day
-
2 frequently
上天入地
shàng tiān rù dì
-
1 lit. to go up to heaven or down to Hades (idiom)
-
2 fig. to go to great lengths
-
3 to search heaven and earth
上天无路，入地无门
shàng tiān wú lù , rù dì wú mén
-
1 lit. there is no road to the sky, nor door into the earth (idiom)
-
2 fig. to be at the end of one's rope
-
3 to be trapped in a hopeless situation
上有天堂，下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
-
1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
-
2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
不以规矩，不能成方圆
bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán
-
1 without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius); one must follow some rules
不值一文
bù zhí yī wén
-
1 worthless (idiom)
-
2 no use whatsoever