一失足成千古恨
yī shī zú chéng qiān gǔ hèn
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1 a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
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1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
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2 stuck in a rut
一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥
yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu
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1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)
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2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
一言为重
yī yán wéi zhòng
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1 each word carries weight
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2 a promise must be kept (idiom)
一语成谶
yī yǔ chéng chèn
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1 (idiom) to have one's words turn out to be (tragically) prophetic
一雨成秋
yī yǔ chéng qiū
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1 a sudden shower towards the end of summer brings an abrupt arrival of autumn (idiom)
一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤
yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng
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1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom)
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2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
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1 in groups of three or four (idiom)
三人成虎
sān rén chéng hǔ
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1 three men talking makes a tiger (idiom); repeated rumor becomes a fact
三个臭皮匠,合成一个诸葛亮
sān gè chòu pí jiang , hé chéng yī gè Zhū gě Liàng
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1 lit. three ignorant cobblers add up to a genius (idiom); fig. collective wisdom
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
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1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
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2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
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3 sandwich generation
不以规矩,不能成方圆
bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán
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1 without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius); one must follow some rules
不成功便成仁
bù chéng gōng biàn chéng rén
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1 to succeed or die trying (idiom)
不成体统
bù chéng tǐ tǒng
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1 not according with decorum (idiom); scandalous
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2 bad form
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3 unacceptable behavior
不打不成器
bù dǎ bù chéng qì
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1 spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)
不打不成才
bù dǎ bù chéng cái
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1 spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)
不打不成相识
bù dǎ bù chéng xiāng shí
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1 don't fight, won't make friends (idiom); an exchange of blows may lead to friendship
不知轻重
bù zhī qīng zhòng
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1 lit. not knowing what's important (idiom); no appreciation of the gravity of things
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2 naive
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3 doesn't know who's who
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4 no sense of priorities
不听老人言,吃亏在眼前
bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián
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1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril
久病成良医
jiǔ bìng chéng liáng yī
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1 long illness makes the patient into a good doctor (idiom)