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
一个天南，一个地北
yī ge tiān nán , yī ge dì běi
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1 to live miles apart (idiom)
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
一败涂地
yī bài tú dì
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1 failed and wiped over the floor (idiom); to fail utterly
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2 a crushing defeat
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3 beaten and in a hopeless position
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)
一柱擎天
yī zhù qíng tiān
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1 lit. to support the sky as a single pillar (idiom)
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2 fig. to take a crucial responsibility upon one's shoulders
一步登天
yī bù dēng tiān
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1 reaching heaven in a single bound (idiom); (esp. with negative: don't expect) instant success
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
七手八脚
qī shǒu bā jiǎo
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1 (idiom) with everyone lending a hand (eagerly but somewhat chaotically)
七扭八歪
qī niǔ bā wāi
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1 misshapen
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2 crooked
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3 uneven (idiom)
七零八落
qī líng bā luò
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1 (idiom) everything broken and in disorder
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
三十而立
sān shí ér lì
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1 thirty years old and therefore independent (idiom, from Confucius)
三天不打，上房揭瓦
sān tiān bù dǎ , shàng fáng jiē wǎ
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1 three days without a beating, and a child will scale the roof to rip the tiles (idiom)
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2 spare the rod, spoil the child
三天两头
sān tiān liǎng tóu
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1 lit. twice every three days (idiom); practically every day
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2 frequently
三百六十行
sān bǎi liù shí háng
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1 all walks of life (idiom)
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2 every trade