ChinesePod

1 lit. the cart in front overturns, a warning to the following cart (idiom); fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor
2 learn from past mistake
3 once bitten twice shy

前车之鉴

qián chē zhī jiàn

1 to learn a lesson from the mistakes of one's predecessor (idiom)

学富五车

xué fù wǔ chē

1 of great erudition and scholarship (idiom)

安步当车

ān bù dàng chē

1 to go on foot (idiom)
2 to do things at a leisurely pace

宝马香车

bǎo mǎ xiāng chē

1 precious horses and magnificent carriage (idiom); rich family with extravagant lifestyle
2 ostentatious display of luxury

Sample Sentences

看起来是老司机了呀，我倒是想问问，什么样的征兆后，得对那家伙的感情投入及时刹车？

kàn qǐlái shì lǎosījī le ya ，wǒ dàoshì xiǎng wèn wèn ，shénmeyàng de zhēngzhào hòu ，děi duì nà jiāhuo de gǎnqíng tóurù jíshí shāchē ？

Looks like you're a pro at all this. However, I want to ask, what kind of signs do you need to see to put the emergency breaks on in a relationships.

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车子怪怪的，刹车的时候会震动。

chēzi guàiguài de ，shāchē de shíhou huì zhèndòng 。

The car is being weird, when I break, I feel a vibration.

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要离前面的车子远点，不要用力踩油门和刹车，要一点一点踩。

yào lí qiánmian de chēzi yuǎn diǎnr ，bù yào yònglì cǎi yóumén hé shāchē ，yào yīdiǎn yīdiǎn cǎi 。

You'll need to stay a bit further away from the car in front of you. Don't step too hard on the gas or breaks; you just need to tap on it.

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车技再好有什么用？如果遇到不懂规则的对手，还是一点办法都没有啊。什么插队啦，转弯不打灯啦，突然来个急刹车啦什么的，这些危险性动作都已经是家常便饭了。

chējì zàihǎo yǒu shénme yòng ？rúguǒ yùdào bù dǒng guīzé de duìshǒu ，háishì yīdiǎnr bànfǎ dōu méiyǒu a 。shénme chāduì la ，zhuǎnwān bù dǎdēng la ，tūrán lái ge jíshāchē la shénme de ，zhèxiē wēixiǎn xìng dòngzuò dōu yǐjīng shì jiāchángbiànfàn le 。

What good does being a good driver do me? If I encounter someone who doesn’t understand the rules, it doesn’t help me at all. Cutting in line, turning without using their turn signal, suddenly slamming on the brakes, and so on; these dangerous things happen all the time.

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唉，你怎么急刹车啊？

āi ，nǐ zěnme jíshāchē a ？

Hey, why are you putting on the brakes?

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我开到路口的时候是绿灯，不过我还是减速、打右转向灯。没想到，一辆助动车冲出来。她是直行，速度比较快。我马上刹车，可是还是撞了。我记得撞车的时候她没摔下来，但是等我下车，她就一屁股坐在地上，又哭又闹，说我把她撞伤了。明明是她闯红灯，违反交通规则，还要赖在我身上。我当时转弯的时候速度只有二三十公里，根本不可能撞倒她。

wǒ kāi dào lùkǒu de shíhou shì lǜdēng ，bùguò wǒ háishi jiǎnsù 、dǎ yòu zhuǎnxiàngdēng 。méi xiǎngdào ，yī liàng zhùdòngchē chōng chūlai 。tā shì zhíxíng ，sùdù bǐjiào kuài 。wǒ mǎshàng shāchē ，kěshì háishi zhuàng le 。wǒ jìde zhuàngchē de shíhou tā méi shuāi xiàlai ，dànshì děng wǒ xiàchē ，tā jiù yī pìgu zuò zài dì shàng ，yòu kū yòu nào ，shuō wǒ bǎ tā zhuàng shāng le 。míngmíng shì tā chuǎng hóngdēng ，wéifǎn jiāotōng guīzé ，hái yào lài zài wǒ shēnshang 。wǒ dāngshí zhuǎnwān de shíhou sùdù zhǐ yǒu èr sān shí gōnglǐ ，gēnběn bù kěnéng zhuàngdǎo tā 。

When I drove up to the intersection the light was green, but I still slowed down, and put on my right turn blinker. I never thought an electric bike would come out of nowhere. She was going straight, at a rather high speed. I braked immediately, but I still hit her. I remember when I hit her bike she didn't fall off, but after I got out of my car, she set her butt right on the ground, crying and making a fuss, saying I injured her. She's clearly the one that ran a red light, breaking the law, and now she wants to pin it on me. At the time I was turning, my speed was only 20 or 30 kilometers per hour. There's no way I could have knocked her over.

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