三天不打，上房揭瓦
sān tiān bù dǎ , shàng fáng jiē wǎ
-
1 three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip the tiles (idiom)
-
2 spare the rod, spoil the child
他山之石可以攻玉
tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù
-
1 lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside
-
2 to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively
他乡遇故知
tā xiāng yù gù zhī
-
1 meeting an old friend in a foreign place (idiom)
别无他用
bié wú tā yòng
-
1 to have no other use or purpose (idiom)
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
-
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
-
1 Better broken jade than intact tile.
-
2 Death is preferable to dishonor. (idiom)
悬崖勒马
xuán yá lè mǎ
-
1 lit. to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice (idiom)
-
2 fig. to act in the nick of time
敲诈勒索
qiāo zhà lè suǒ
-
1 extortion and blackmail (idiom)
添砖加瓦
tiān zhuān jiā wǎ
-
1 lit. contribute bricks and tiles for a building (idiom)
-
2 fig. to do one's bit to help
王顾左右而言他
wáng gù zuǒ yòu ér yán tā
-
1 the king looked left and right and then talked of other things
-
2 to digress from the topic of discussion (idiom)
异国他乡
yì guó tā xiāng
-
1 foreign lands and places (idiom); living as expatriate
风中烛，瓦上霜
fēng zhōng zhú , wǎ shàng shuāng
-
1 lit. like a candle in the wind, or frost on the roof (idiom)
-
2 fig. (of sb's life) feeble
-
3 hanging on a thread
黄钟毁弃瓦釜雷鸣
huáng zhōng huǐ qì wǎ fǔ léi míng
-
1 lit. earthern pots make more noise than classical bells
-
2 good men are discarded in favor of bombastic ones (idiom)