小菜一碟
xiǎo cài yī dié
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1 a small appetizer
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2 a piece of cake; very easy (idiom)
强扭的瓜不甜
qiǎng niǔ de guā bù tián
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1 lit. if you have to use force to break a melon off the vine, it won't taste sweet (because it's only when the melon is ripe that it can be removed with just a slight twist) (idiom)
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2 fig. if sth is not meant to be, it's no use trying to force it to happen
捡了芝麻丢了西瓜
jiǎn le zhī ma diū le xī guā
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1 to let go of the big prize while grabbing at trifles (idiom)
捡到篮里就是菜
jiǎn dào lán lǐ jiù shì cài
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1 all is grist that comes to the mill (idiom)
滚瓜烂熟
gǔn guā làn shú
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1 lit. ripe as a melon that rolls from its vine (idiom); fig. to know fluently
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2 to know sth inside out
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3 to know sth by heart
王婆卖瓜,自卖自夸
wáng pó mài guā , zì mài zì kuā
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1 every potter praises his own pot (idiom)
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2 all one's geese are swans
瓜熟蒂落
guā shú dì luò
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1 when the melon is ripe, it falls (idiom); problems sort themselves out in the fullness of time
瓜田不纳履,李下不整冠
guā tián bù nà lu:3 , lǐ xià bù zhěng guān
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1 lit. don't tie your shoelaces in a melon patch, and don't adjust your hat under a plum tree (idiom)
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2 fig. don't do anything that might arouse suspicion
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3 innocent acts may be misconstrued
看人下菜碟儿
kàn rén xià cài dié r5
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1 (dialect) to treat sb according to their social status, relationship with them etc (idiom)
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2 not to treat everyone equally favorably
看菜吃饭
kān cài chī fàn
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1 to eat depending on the dish (idiom); fig. to act according to actual circumstances
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2 to live within one's means
看菜吃饭,量体裁衣
kān cài chī fàn , liáng tǐ cái yī
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1 eat depending on the dish, cut cloth according to the body (idiom); to fit the appetite to the dishes and the dress to the figure
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2 to act according to actual circumstances
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3 to live within one's means
种瓜得瓜,种豆得豆
zhòng guā dé guā , zhòng dòu dé dòu
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1 lit. Sow melon and you get melon, sow beans and you get beans (idiom); fig. As you sow, so shall you reap.
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2 One must live with the consequences of one's actions.
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3 You've made your bed, now must lie on it.
老王卖瓜,自卖自夸
Lǎo Wáng mài guā , zì mài zì kuā
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1 every potter praises his own pot (idiom)
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2 all one's geese are swans
萝卜白菜,各有所爱
luó bo bái cài , gè yǒu suǒ ài
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1 one man's meat is another man's poison (idiom)
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2 to each his own
黄花菜都凉了
huáng huā cài dōu liáng le
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1 lit. the dishes are cold (idiom)
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2 fig. to arrive late
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3 to take one's sweet time