一五一十
yī wǔ yī shí
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1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
一传十,十传百
yī chuán shí , shí chuán bǎi
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1 news pass quickly from mouth to mouth (idiom)
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2 an infectious disease spreads quickly (old meaning)
一呼百应
yī hū bǎi yìng
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1 a hundred answers to a single call (idiom)
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2 to respond en masse
一呼百诺
yī hū bǎi nuò
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1 one command brings a hundred responses (idiom); having hundreds of attendants at one's beck and call
一年被蛇咬十年怕井绳
yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng
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1 bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom); once bitten twice shy
一意孤行
yī yì gū xíng
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1 obstinately clinging to one's course (idiom)
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2 willful
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3 one's own way
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4 dogmatic
一日千里
yī rì qiān lǐ
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1 lit. one day, a thousand miles (idiom); rapid progress
一暴十寒
yī pù shí hán
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1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
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2 sporadic effort
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3 short attention span
一曝十寒
yī pù shí hán
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1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
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2 sporadic effort
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3 lack of sticking power
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4 short attention span
一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng
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1 once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope
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2 once bitten, twice shy (idiom)
一瓶子不响,半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
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1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
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2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一目十行
yī mù shí háng
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1 ten lines at a glance (idiom)
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2 to read very rapidly
一知半解
yī zhī bàn jiě
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1 lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge
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2 dilettante
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3 amateur
一言一行
yī yán yī xíng
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1 every word and action (idiom)
一言九鼎
yī yán jiǔ dǐng
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1 one word worth nine sacred tripods (idiom); words of enormous weight
一通百通
yī tōng bǎi tōng
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1 grasp this fundamental point and all the rest will follow (idiom)
一鳞半爪
yī lín bàn zhuǎ
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1 lit. one scale and half a claw (idiom); only odd bits and pieces
三七二十一
sān qī èr shí yī
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1 three sevens are twenty-one (idiom)
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2 the facts of the matter
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3 the actual situation
三人行,必有我师
sān rén xíng , bì yǒu wǒ shī
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1 lit. if three walk together, one can be my teacher (idiom, from the Analects of Confucius)
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2 you have sth to learn from everyone
三十而立
sān shí ér lì
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1 thirty years old and therefore independent (idiom, from Confucius)