不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
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1 don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
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2 there's more than one way to skin a cat
九牛一毛
jiǔ niú yī máo
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1 lit. one hair from nine oxen (idiom)
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2 fig. a drop in the ocean
九牛二虎之力
jiǔ niú èr hǔ zhī lì
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1 tremendous strength (idiom)
刀不磨要生锈，人不学要落后
dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu
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1 a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)
切中要害
qiè zhòng yào hài
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1 to hit the target and do real damage (idiom)
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2 fig. to hit where it hurts
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3 fig. to hit home
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4 an argument that hits the nail on the head
初生牛犊不怕虎
chū shēng niú dú bù pà hǔ
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1 lit. newborn calves do not fear tigers (idiom)
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2 fig. the young are fearless
割鸡焉用牛刀
gē jī yān yòng niú dāo
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1 lit. why use a pole-ax to slaughter a chicken? (idiom)
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2 fig. to waste effort on a trifling matter
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3 also written 殺雞焉用牛刀|杀鸡焉用牛刀[shā jī yān yòng niú dāo]
加官进位
jiā guān jìn wèi
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1 promotion in official post and salary raise (idiom)
加官进爵
jiā guān jìn jué
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1 promotion to the nobility (idiom)
加官进禄
jiā guān jìn lù
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1 promotion in official post and salary raise (idiom)
又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草
yòu yào mǎ r5 pǎo , yòu yào mǎ r5 bù chī cǎo
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1 lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom)
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2 fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too
只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针
zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn
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1 If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.
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2 cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task
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3 to study diligently
呼牛作马
hū niú zuò mǎ
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1 to call sth a cow or a horse (idiom); it doesn't matter what you call it
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2 Insult me if you want, I don't care what you call me.
呼牛呼马
hū niú hū mǎ
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1 to call sth a cow or a horse (idiom); it doesn't matter what you call it
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2 Insult me if you want, I don't care what you call me.
土牛木马
tǔ niú mù mǎ
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1 clay ox, wooden horse (idiom); shape without substance
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2 worthless object
多如牛毛
duō rú niú máo
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1 as many as the hair of the ox (idiom)
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2 great amount of
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3 countless
天要落雨，娘要嫁人
tiān yào luò yǔ , niáng yào jià rén
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1 the rain will fall, the womenfolk will marry (idiom)
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2 fig. the natural order of things
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3 something you can't go against
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
小试牛刀
xiǎo shì niú dāo
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1 to give a small demonstration of one's impressive skills (idiom)
带牛佩犊
dài niú pèi dú
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1 to abandon armed struggle and return to raising cattle (idiom)