一纸空文
yī zhǐ kōng wén
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1 a worthless piece of paper (idiom)
不到火候不揭锅
bù dào huǒ hòu bù jiē guō
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1 don't act until the time is ripe (idiom)
不打不成器
bù dǎ bù chéng qì
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1 spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)
人去楼空
rén qù lóu kōng
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1 the people are gone and the place is empty (idiom)
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2 the sight of a deserted place brings old friends to mind
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3 the place is deserted
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4 the birds have flown
两手空空
liǎng shǒu kōng kōng
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1 empty-handed (idiom); fig. not receiving anything
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)
劈空扳害
pī kōng bān hài
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1 damaged by groundless slander (idiom)
厝火积薪
cuò huǒ jī xīn
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1 lit. to put a fire under a pile of firewood (idiom)
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2 fig. hidden danger
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3 imminent danger
司空见惯
sī kōng jiàn guàn
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1 a common occurrence (idiom)
唱空城计
chàng kōng chéng jì
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1 lit. to sing “The Empty City Stratagem” (idiom)
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2 fig. to put up a bluff to conceal one's weakness
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3 (jocularly) (of a place etc) to be empty
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4 (of one's stomach) to be rumbling
四大皆空
sì dà jiē kōng
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1 lit. the four elements are vanity (idiom)
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2 this world is an illusion
坐吃山空
zuò chī shān kōng
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1 lit. just sitting and eating, one can deplete even a mountain of wealth (idiom)
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2 fig. to spend one's money without generating any income
城门失火,殃及池鱼
chéng mén shī huǒ , yāng jí chí yú
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1 a fire in the city gates is also a calamity for the fish in the moat (idiom); the bystander will also suffer
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2 fig. you can't escape responsibility for your actions
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3 ask not for whom the bell tolls - it tolls for thee
大器晚成
dà qì wǎn chéng
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1 lit. it takes a long time to make a big pot (idiom); fig. a great talent matures slowly
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2 in the fullness of time a major figure will develop into a pillar of the state
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3 Rome wasn't built in a day
天低吴楚,眼空无物
tiān dī Wú Chǔ , yǎn kōng wú wù
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1 the sky hangs low over the Yangtze, empty as far as the eye can see (idiom); nothing to see to the broad horizon
天马行空
tiān mǎ xíng kōng
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1 like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies (idiom)
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2 (of writing, calligraphy etc) bold and imaginative
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3 unconstrained in style
如火如荼
rú huǒ rú tú
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1 like wildfire (idiom)
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2 unstoppable
工欲善其事,必先利其器
gōng yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qì
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1 To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job
急如星火
jí rú xīng huǒ
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1 lit. as hurried as a shooting star (idiom); requiring immediate action
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2 extremely urgent
惹火烧身
rě huǒ shāo shēn
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1 stir up the fire and you get burnt (idiom); to get one's fingers burnt
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2 fig. to suffer on account of one's own meddling