不当家不知柴米贵
bù dāng jiā bù zhī chái mǐ guì
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1 a person who doesn't manage a household would not be aware how expensive it is (idiom)
人在江湖，身不由己
rén zài jiāng hú , shēn bù yóu jǐ
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1 you can't always do as you like
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2 one has to compromise in this world (idiom)
偷鸡不成蚀把米
tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ
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1 lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)
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2 fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off
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3 to go for wool and come back shorn
大江南北
Dà jiāng nán běi
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1 north and south sides of the Yangtze River (idiom)
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2 (fig.) all over China
巧妇难为无米之炊
qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī
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1 The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice (idiom); You won't get anywhere without equipment.
指点江山
zhǐ diǎn jiāng shān
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1 to talk idly about important matters (idiom)
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2 to set the world to rights
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3 to pass judgment on everything
文江学海
wén jiāng xué hǎi
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1 river of literacy, sea of learning (idiom); ars longa, vita brevis
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
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1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
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2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
江山易改，本性难移
jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yí
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1 it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)
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2 you can't change who you are
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3 Can the leopard change his spots?
江河日下
jiāng hé rì xià
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1 rivers pour away by the day (idiom); going from bad to worse
-
2 deteriorating day by day
江郎才尽
Jiāng láng cái jìn
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1 Jiang Yan has exhausted his talent (idiom)
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2 fig. to have used up one's creative powers
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3 to have writer's block
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
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1 (idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiàng Yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
生米做成熟饭
shēng mǐ zuò chéng shú fàn
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1 lit. the raw rice is now cooked (idiom); fig. it is done and can't be changed
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2 It's too late to change anything now.
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3 also written 生米煮成熟飯|生米煮成熟饭
生米煮成熟饭
shēng mǐ zhǔ chéng shú fàn
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1 the rice is cooked
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2 what's done is done
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3 it's too late to change anything now (idiom)
生米熟饭
shēng mǐ shú fàn
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1 abbr. for 生米煮成熟飯|生米煮成熟饭, lit. the raw rice is now cooked (idiom); fig. it is done and can't be changed
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2 It's too late to change anything now.
米已成炊
mǐ yǐ chéng chuī
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1 lit. the rice has already been cooked (idiom)
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2 fig. what is done cannot be undone
翻江倒海
fān jiāng dǎo hǎi
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1 lit. overturning seas and rivers (idiom)
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2 fig. overwhelming
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3 earth-shattering
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4 in a spectacular mess
船到江心，补漏迟
chuán dào jiāng xīn , bǔ lòu chí
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1 It's too late to plug the leak once ship is in the middle of the river. (idiom)
万里江山
wàn lǐ jiāng shān
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1 lit. ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains
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2 a vast territory (idiom)
长江后浪推前浪
Cháng Jiāng hòu làng tuī qián làng
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1 lit. the rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before (idiom)
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2 fig. the new is constantly replacing the old
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3 each new generation excels the previous
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4 (of things) to be constantly evolving