一人得道,鸡犬升天
yī rén dé dào , jī quǎn shēng tiān
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1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
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2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
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3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
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4 Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
一语道破
yī yǔ dào pò
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1 one word says it all (idiom)
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2 to hit the nail on the head
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3 to be pithy and correct
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
不足为外人道
bù zú wéi wài rén dào
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1 no use to tell others
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2 let's keep this between ourselves (idiom)
仁义道德
rén yì dào dé
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1 compassion, duty, propriety and integrity (idiom); all the traditional virtues
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2 mainly used sarcastically, to mean hypocritical
以其人之道,还治其人之身
yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn
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1 to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
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2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine
你走你的阳关道,我过我的独木桥
nǐ zǒu nǐ de Yáng guān Dào , wǒ guò wǒ de dú mù qiáo
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1 lit. you hit the high road, I'll cross the log bridge (idiom)
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2 fig. you go your way, I'll go mine
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3 you do it your way, I'll do it mine
假道伐虢
jiǎ dào fá Guó
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1 to obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo
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2 to borrow the resources of an ally to attack a common enemy (idiom)
传道受业
chuán dào shòu yè
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1 to teach (idiom); lit. to give moral and practical instruction
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)
分道扬镳
fēn dào yáng biāo
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1 lit. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom)
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2 fig. to part ways
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
卑卑不足道
bēi bēi bù zú dào
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1 to be too petty or insignificant to mention
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2 to not be worth mentioning (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
口碑载道
kǒu bēi zài dào
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1 lit. praise fills the roads (idiom); praise everywhere
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2 universal approbation
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
问道于盲
wèn dào yú máng
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1 lit. to ask a blind man the way (idiom)
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2 fig. to seek advice from an incompetent
坐而论道
zuò ér lùn dào
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1 to sit and pontificate; to find answers through theory and not through practice (idiom)
天公地道
tiān gōng dì dào
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1 absolutely fair and reasonable (idiom); equitable
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