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)
一唱一和
yī chàng yī hè
1 to echo one another (idiom)
一团和气
yī tuán hé qì
1 to keep on the right side of everyone (idiom)
2 warm and affable
一败涂地
yī bài tú dì
1 failed and wiped over the floor (idiom); to fail utterly
2 a crushing defeat
3 beaten and in a hopeless position
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
一鸣惊人
yī míng jīng rén
1 to amaze the world with a single brilliant feat (idiom); an overnight celebrity
丈二和尚，摸不着头脑
zhàng èr hé shang , mō bu zháo tóu nǎo
1 lit. like a three-meter high monk, you can't rub his head (idiom)
2 fig. at a total loss
三人成虎
sān rén chéng hǔ
1 three men talking makes a tiger (idiom); repeated rumor becomes a fact
三人行，必有我师
sān rén xíng , bì yǒu wǒ shī
1 lit. if three walk together, one can be my teacher (idiom, from the Analects of Confucius)
2 you have sth to learn from everyone
三个和尚没水喝
sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē
1 lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
2 fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
三个女人一台戏
sān ge nu:3 rén yī tái xì
1 three women are enough for a drama (idiom)
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
不以人废言
bù yǐ rén fèi yán
1 not to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects); to judge on the merits of the case rather than preference between advisers
Sample Sentences
我们不投缘。中国人谈生意，讲天时地利人和。
wǒmen bù tóuyuán 。Zhōngguórén tán shēngyì ，jiǎng tiānshídìlìrénhé 。
B: We didn’t hit it off. When Chinese people talk about business, we value tiānshídìlìrénhé.