人在江湖,身不由己
rén zài jiāng hú , shēn bù yóu jǐ
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1 you can't always do as you like
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2 one has to compromise in this world (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
大江南北
Dà jiāng nán běi
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1 north and south sides of the Yangtze River (idiom)
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2 (fig.) all over China
指点江山
zhǐ diǎn jiāng shān
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1 to talk idly about important matters (idiom)
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2 to set the world to rights
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3 to pass judgment on everything
文江学海
wén jiāng xué hǎi
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1 river of literacy, sea of learning (idiom); ars longa, vita brevis
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
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1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
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2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
东奔西跑
dōng bēn xī pǎo
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1 to run this way and that (idiom); to rush about busily
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2 to bustle about
江山易改,本性难移
jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yí
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1 it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)
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2 you can't change who you are
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3 Can the leopard change his spots?
江河日下
jiāng hé rì xià
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1 rivers pour away by the day (idiom); going from bad to worse
-
2 deteriorating day by day
江郎才尽
Jiāng láng cái jìn
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1 Jiang Yan has exhausted his talent (idiom)
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2 fig. to have used up one's creative powers
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3 to have writer's block
湖光山色
hú guāng shān sè
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1 scenic lakes and mountain (idiom); beautiful lake and mountain landscape
满嘴跑火车
mǎn zuǐ pǎo huǒ chē
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1 (idiom) to have a glib tongue
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2 to talk big
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
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1 (idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiàng Yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
翻江倒海
fān jiāng dǎo hǎi
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1 lit. overturning seas and rivers (idiom)
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2 fig. overwhelming
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3 earth-shattering
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4 in a spectacular mess
船到江心,补漏迟
chuán dào jiāng xīn , bǔ lòu chí
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1 It's too late to plug the leak once ship is in the middle of the river. (idiom)
万里江山
wàn lǐ jiāng shān
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1 lit. ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains
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2 a vast territory (idiom)
跑了和尚跑不了庙
pǎo le hé shàng pǎo bù liǎo miào
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1 the monk can run away, but the temple won't run with him (idiom)
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2 you can run this time, but you'll have to come back
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3 I'll get you sooner or later
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4 also written 跑得了和尚,跑不了廟|跑得了和尚,跑不了庙[pǎo dé liǎo hé shàng , pǎo bù liǎo miào]
跑了和尚,跑不了寺
pǎo le hé shàng , pǎo bù liǎo sì
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1 the monk can run away, but the temple won't run with him (idiom)
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2 you can run this time, but you'll have to come back
-
3 I'll get you sooner or later
跑得了和尚,跑不了庙
pǎo dé liǎo hé shàng , pǎo bù liǎo miào
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1 the monk can run away, but the temple won't run with him (idiom)
-
2 you can run this time, but you'll have to come back
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3 I'll get you sooner or later
长江后浪推前浪
Cháng Jiāng hòu làng tuī qián làng
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1 lit. the rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before (idiom)
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2 fig. the new is constantly replacing the old
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3 each new generation excels the previous
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4 (of things) to be constantly evolving