一琴一鹤
yī qín yī hè
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1 carrying very little luggage (idiom)
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2 honest and incorruptible (government officials)
三天不打，上房揭瓦
sān tiān bù dǎ , shàng fáng jiē wǎ
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1 three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip the tiles (idiom)
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2 spare the rod, spoil the child
人琴俱亡
rén qín jù wàng
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1 person and lute have both vanished (idiom)
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2 death of a close friend
各人自扫门前雪，莫管他家瓦上霜
gè rén zì sǎo mén qián xuě , mò guǎn tā jiā wǎ shàng shuāng
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1 sweep the snow from your own door step, don't worry about the frost on your neighbor's roof (idiom)
宁为玉碎，不为瓦全
nìng wéi yù suì , bù wéi wǎ quán
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1 Better broken jade than intact tile.
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2 Death is preferable to dishonor. (idiom)
对牛弹琴
duì niú tán qín
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1 lit. to play the lute to a cow (idiom)
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2 fig. offering a treat to an unappreciative audience
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3 to cast pearls before swine
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4 caviar to the general
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5 to preach to deaf ears
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6 to talk over sb's head
托足无门
tuō zú wú mén
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1 to be unable to find a place to stay (idiom)
添砖加瓦
tiān zhuān jiā wǎ
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1 lit. contribute bricks and tiles for a building (idiom)
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2 fig. to do one's bit to help
烘云托月
hōng yún tuō yuè
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1 lit. to shade in the clouds to offset the moon (idiom); fig. a foil
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2 a contrasting character to a main hero
琴剑飘零
qín jiàn piāo líng
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1 floating between zither and sword (idiom); fig. wandering aimlessly with no tenured position
磨刀霍霍
mó dāo huò huò
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1 lit. to sharpen one's sword (idiom)
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2 fig. to prepare to attack
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3 to be getting ready for battle
霍然而愈
huò rán ér yù
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1 to recover speedily (idiom); to get better quickly
风中烛，瓦上霜
fēng zhōng zhú , wǎ shàng shuāng
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1 lit. like a candle in the wind, or frost on the roof (idiom)
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2 fig. (of sb's life) feeble
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3 hanging on a thread
黄钟毁弃瓦釜雷鸣
huáng zhōng huǐ qì wǎ fǔ léi míng
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1 lit. earthern pots make more noise than classical bells
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2 good men are discarded in favor of bombastic ones (idiom)