2 fig. (of officials etc) honest and incorruptible
一碗水端平
yī wǎn shuǐ duān píng
1 lit. to hold a bowl of water level (idiom)
2 fig. to be impartial
一点水一个泡
yī diǎn shuǐ yī gè pào
1 honest and trustworthy (idiom)
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.)
不到黄河心不死
bù dào Huáng Hé xīn bù sǐ
1 lit. not to stop until one reaches the Yellow River (idiom)
2 fig. to persevere until one reaches one's goal
3 to keep going while some hope is left
不是鱼死就是网破
bù shì yú sǐ jiù shì wǎng pò
1 lit. either the fish dies or the net gets torn (idiom)
2 fig. it's a life-and-death struggle
3 it's either him or me
不知死活
bù zhī sǐ huó
1 to act recklessly (idiom)
不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
1 don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
2 there's more than one way to skin a cat
不显山不露水
bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ
1 lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
九死一生
jiǔ sǐ yī shēng
1 nine deaths and still alive (idiom); a narrow escape
2 new lease of life
人不可貌相，海水不可斗量
rén bù kě mào xiàng , hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng
1 you can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot (idiom)
人往高处走，水往低处流
rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú
1 man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom)
2 one should constantly strive to make progress
人为财死，鸟为食亡
rén wèi cái sǐ , niǎo wèi shí wáng
1 lit. human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food (idiom)
2 fig. man will do anything in his means to become rich
似水年华
sì shuǐ nián huá
1 fleeting years (idiom)
你死我活
nǐ sǐ wǒ huó
1 lit. you die, I live (idiom); irreconcilable adversaries
2 two parties cannot coexist
兔死狐悲
tù sǐ hú bēi
1 lit. if the rabbit dies, the fox grieves (idiom); fig. to have sympathy with a like-minded person in distress
兔死狗烹
tù sǐ gǒu pēng
1 lit. to boil the hound once it caught the rabbit (idiom)
2 fig. to get rid of sb once he has served his purpose
兵来将挡，水来土掩
bīng lái jiàng dǎng , shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn
1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
兵来将敌，水来土堰
bīng lái jiàng dí , shuǐ lái tǔ yàn
1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
出水芙蓉
chū shuǐ fú róng
1 as a lotus flower breaking the surface (idiom); surpassingly beautiful (of young lady's face or old gentleman's calligraphy)