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
一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
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1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
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2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一知半解
yī zhī bàn jiě
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1 lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge
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2 dilettante
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3 amateur
一鳞半爪
yī lín bàn zhuǎ
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1 lit. one scale and half a claw (idiom); only odd bits and pieces
三个女人一台戏
sān ge nu:3 rén yī tái xì
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1 three women are enough for a drama (idiom)
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
上天入地
shàng tiān rù dì
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1 lit. to go up to heaven or down to Hades (idiom)
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2 fig. to go to great lengths
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3 to search heaven and earth
上天无路，入地无门
shàng tiān wú lù , rù dì wú mén
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1 lit. there is no road to the sky, nor door into the earth (idiom)
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2 fig. to be at the end of one's rope
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3 to be trapped in a hopeless situation
上有天堂，下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
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1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
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2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
不以规矩，不能成方圆
bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán
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1 without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius); one must follow some rules
不啻天渊
bù chì tiān yuān
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1 no less than from heaven to the abyss (idiom); differing widely
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2 worlds apart
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3 the gap couldn't be bigger
不终天年
bù zhōng tiān nián
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1 to die before one's allotted lifespan has run its course (idiom)
不见天日
bù jiàn tiān rì
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1 all black, no daylight (idiom); a world without justice
九天揽月
jiǔ tiān lǎn yuè
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1 to reach for the stars (idiom)
事半功倍
shì bàn gōng bèi
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1 half the work, twice the effect (idiom); the right approach saves effort and leads to better results
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2 a stitch in time saves nine
人命关天
rén mìng guān tiān
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1 human life is beyond value (idiom)