一五一十
yī wǔ yī shí
-
1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
一倡三叹
yī chàng sān tàn
-
1 (of literature, music) deeply moving (idiom)
一传十，十传百
yī chuán shí , shí chuán bǎi
-
1 news pass quickly from mouth to mouth (idiom)
-
2 an infectious disease spreads quickly (old meaning)
一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
-
1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
-
2 to throw a tantrum
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
-
1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
-
2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
-
3 complete ignorance
一字一泪
yī zì yī lèi
-
1 each word is a teardrop (idiom)
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
-
1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一字千金
yī zì qiān jīn
-
1 one word worth a thousand in gold (idiom)
-
2 (in praise of a piece of writing or calligraphy) each character is perfect
-
3 each word is highly valued
一字褒贬
yī zì bāo biǎn
-
1 dispensing praise or blame with a single word (idiom)
-
2 concise and powerful style
一年被蛇咬十年怕井绳
yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng
-
1 bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom); once bitten twice shy
一日三秋
yī rì sān qiū
-
1 a single day apart seems like three seasons (idiom)
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
-
1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一暴十寒
yī pù shí hán
-
1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
-
2 sporadic effort
-
3 short attention span
一曝十寒
yī pù shí hán
-
1 one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius); fig. to work for a bit then skimp
-
2 sporadic effort
-
3 lack of sticking power
-
4 short attention span
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng
-
1 once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope
-
2 once bitten, twice shy (idiom)
一板三眼
yī bǎn sān yǎn
-
1 lit. one strong beat and three weak beats in a measure of music (four beats in the bar) (idiom); fig. scrupulous attention to detail
一目十行
yī mù shí háng
-
1 ten lines at a glance (idiom)
-
2 to read very rapidly
三七二十一
sān qī èr shí yī
-
1 three sevens are twenty-one (idiom)
-
2 the facts of the matter
-
3 the actual situation
三下两下
sān xià liǎng xià
-
1 quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
三五成群
sān wǔ chéng qún
-
1 in groups of three or four (idiom)