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1 Jiang Ziya is fishing, if you want take the hook (idiom, refers to early sage 姜子牙 fishing with no bait and the hook above the water); to put one's head in the noose

姜太公钓鱼，愿者上钩

Jiāng tài gōng diào yú , yuàn zhě shàng gōu

1 Jiang Ziya is fishing, if you want it, take the hook (idiom, refers to early sage 姜子牙 fishing with no bait and the hook above the water); to put one's head in the noose

宁做鸡头，不做凤尾

nìng zuò jī tóu , bù zuò fèng wěi

1 lit. would rather be a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail (idiom)
2 fig. to prefer to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond

Sample Sentences

近十年来，消费者对于音乐的态度已经跟以前有很大的不同，很多人宁愿花百来块钱买一杯咖啡，也不愿意花三百块去买一张CD。

jìn shí nián lái ，xiāofèizhě duìyú yīnyuè de tàidu yǐjīng gēn yǐqián yǒu hěndà de bùtóng ，hěn duō rén nìngyuàn huā bǎi lái kuàiqián mǎi yī bēi kāfēi ，yě bù yuànyì huā sānbǎi kuài qù mǎi yī zhāng CD 。

In the last decade, consumers' attitude towards music has already changed a lot, as people are willing to pay over 100 yuan for a cup of coffee, but aren't willing to pay over 300 yuan to buy a CD.

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如果学校已经变得和灵魂教育无关，只是个培训技术控的地方，那咱把孩子送学校“控”去了，那我宁愿让孩子当个食材控，也不想让她当个写套路作文控。

rúguǒ xuéxiào yǐjīng biànde hé línghún jiàoyù wúguān ，zhǐshì ge péixùn jìshù kòng de dìfang ，nà zán bǎ háizi sòng xuéxiào “kòng ”qù le ，nà wǒ nìngyuàn ràng háizi dāng ge shí cái kòng ，yě bùxiǎng ràng tā dāng ge xiě tàolù zuòwén kòng 。

If school is becoming unrelated to the education of the soul, but only a place for mastering technology, then our child would be mastered by technology instead. In that case, I would rather my child to master cuisine, than to master boring essays.

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花同样的价钱，我宁愿吃桌餐。上次去吃自助餐，冷冷清清的，每人发个盘子，排着队去拿东西，搞得像要饭的一样。

huā tóngyàng de jiàqian ，wǒ nìngyuàn chī zhuōcān 。shàngcì qù chī zìzhùcān ，lěnglěngqīngqīng de ，měirén fā ge pánzi ，pái zhe duì qù ná dōngxi ，gǎo de xiàng yàofàn de yīyàng 。

On the same budget I rather have a table meal. The last time I went lonely. Queuing up with a plate to take the food felt like begging.

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我知道，但我宁愿卷铺盖走人，也不想跟他们周旋。

wǒ zhīdào ，dàn wǒ nìngyuàn juǎnpūgàizǒurén ，yě bùxiǎng gēn tāmen zhōuxuán 。

I know, but I'd rather pack up and leave than to deal with them.

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我啊，宁愿跳进湘水中，葬身在江鱼的肚子里，又怎能够让自己洁白的灵魂受到世俗尘埃的污染呢！

wǒ ā ，nìngyuàn tiào jìn xiāngshuǐ zhōng ，zàngshēn zài jiāng yú de dùzi lǐ ，yòu zěn nénggòu ràng zìjǐ jiébái de línghún shòudào shìsú chénāi de wūrǎn ne ！

Me? I would rather jump into the Xiang river, and be buried in the stomaches of the Xiang river fish. So how could I allow my innocent soul to be polluted by the dust of our world.

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说的没错，孩子是我们的心头肉，为他们花钱，花多少都不心疼，宁愿自己节省一点，也要让他们有好的生活。

shuō de méicuò ，háizi shì wǒmen de xīntóuròu ，wèi tāmen huāqián ，huā duōshao dōu bù xīnténg ，nìngyuàn zìjǐ jiéshěng yīdiǎn ，yě yào ràng tāmen yǒu hǎo de shēnghuó 。

You're right, our children are the most precious thing to us, spending money on them is not something you'll regret, even if it means cutting back a bit on spending on yourself, you want them to have a good life.

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你还真是“逆来顺受”。好吧，也许你这么想，就不会像我一样常常后悔自己做过的事、说过的话。但，要是可能，我还是宁愿有回到过去的机会。

nǐ hái zhēn shì “nìláishùnshòu ”。hǎoba ，yěxǔ nǐ zhème xiǎng ，jiù bùhuì xiàng wǒ yīyàng chángcháng hòuhuǐ zìjǐ zuò guo de shì 、shuō guo dehuà 。dàn ，yàoshì kěnéng ，wǒ háishì nìngyuàn yǒu huí dào guòqù de jīhuì 。

You're really resigned to your fate. OK, maybe thinking like you do, won't leave you like me, always regretting the things you've done and said. However, if it were possible, I would rather have an opportunity to return to the past.

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宁愿我就葬在这一天。

nìngyuàn wǒ jiù zàng zài zhèyītiān 。

I would rather die on this day

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哎呀，那些浪漫电影都是骗人的。生离死别，苦兮兮的，我宁愿平平淡淡在一起。还有那些男人，整天不赚钱围着女人转，跟了他们肯定得喝西北风去。

āiyā ，nàxiē làngmàn diànyǐng dōu shì piànrén de 。shēnglísǐbié ，kǔxīxī de ，wǒ nìngyuàn píngpíngdàndàn zàiyīqǐ 。háiyǒu nàxiē nánrén ，zhěngtiān bù zhuànqián wéi zhe nǚrén zhuàn ，gēn le tāmen kěndìng děi hē xīběifēng qù 。

Argh, those romantic movies are all so fake. The pain of separation and the sorrow of loss; so tragic. I'd rather just live an ordinary and peaceful life together. Also, those guys spend all day around their women without making any money. If you were with them you'd be out on the streets.

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所以啊，我宁愿挤地铁或者打的。在中国开车就像看惊险片一样紧张，我的心脏可承受不起。

suǒyǐ a ，wǒ nìngyuàn jǐ dìtiě huò zhě dǎdī 。zài Zhōngguó kāichē jiù xiàng kàn jīngxiǎnpiānr yīyàng jǐnzhāng ，wǒ de xīnzàng kě chéngshòubu qǐ 。

Therefore, I’d rather squeeze onto the subway or take a cab. Driving in China is as nerve-wracking as watching a thriller movie. My heart really can’t take it.

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