一清如水
yī qīng rú shuǐ
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1 lit. as clear as water (idiom)
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2 fig. (of officials etc) honest and incorruptible
一碗水端平
yī wǎn shuǐ duān píng
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1 lit. to hold a bowl of water level (idiom)
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2 fig. to be impartial
一点水一个泡
yī diǎn shuǐ yī gè pào
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1 honest and trustworthy (idiom)
三个和尚没水喝
sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē
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1 lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
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2 fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
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3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
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)
不显山不露水
bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ
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1 lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
九霄云外
jiǔ xiāo yún wài
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1 beyond the topmost clouds (idiom)
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2 unimaginably far away
人不可貌相,海水不可斗量
rén bù kě mào xiàng , hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng
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1 you can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot (idiom)
人外有人,天外有天
rén wài yǒu rén , tiān wài yǒu tiān
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1 in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself (idiom)
人往高处走,水往低处流
rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú
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1 man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom)
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2 one should constantly strive to make progress
仇人相见,分外眼红
chóu rén xiāng jiàn , fèn wài yǎn hóng
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1 when the enemies come face to face, their eyes blaze with hatred (idiom)
付之度外
fù zhī dù wài
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1 to think nothing of doing sth (idiom)
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2 to do sth without considering the risks
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3 to leave out of consideration
信孚中外
xìn fú zhōng wài
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1 to be trusted both at home and abroad (idiom)
兄弟阋于墙,外御其侮
xiōng dì xì yú qiáng , wài yù qí wǔ
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1 internal disunity dissolves at the threat of an invasion from outside (idiom)
内忧外困
nèi yōu wài kùn
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1 internal trouble and outside aggression (idiom); in a mess both domestically and abroad
内忧外患
nèi yōu wài huàn
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1 internal trouble and outside aggression (idiom); in a mess both domestically and abroad
兵来将挡,水来土掩
bīng lái jiàng dǎng , shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn
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1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
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2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
兵来将敌,水来土堰
bīng lái jiàng dí , shuǐ lái tǔ yàn
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1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
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2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
出乎意外
chū hū yì wài
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1 beyond expectation (idiom); unexpected