人在江湖，身不由己
rén zài jiāng hú , shēn bù yóu jǐ
-
1 you can't always do as you like
-
2 one has to compromise in this world (idiom)
大江南北
Dà jiāng nán běi
-
1 north and south sides of the Yangtze River (idiom)
-
2 (fig.) all over China
手心手背都是肉
shǒu xīn shǒu bèi dōu shì ròu
-
1 lit. both the palm and the back of the hand are made of flesh (idiom)
-
2 fig. to both be of equal importance
-
3 to value both equally
指点江山
zhǐ diǎn jiāng shān
-
1 to talk idly about important matters (idiom)
-
2 to set the world to rights
-
3 to pass judgment on everything
文江学海
wén jiāng xué hǎi
-
1 river of literacy, sea of learning (idiom); ars longa, vita brevis
春江水暖鸭先知
chūn jiāng shuǐ nuǎn yā xiān zhī
-
1 lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
-
2 fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows
林子大了，什么鸟都有
lín zi dà le , shén me niǎo dōu yǒu
-
1 it takes all sorts (to make a world) (idiom)
江山易改，本性难移
jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yí
-
1 it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)
-
2 you can't change who you are
-
3 Can the leopard change his spots?
江河日下
jiāng hé rì xià
-
1 rivers pour away by the day (idiom); going from bad to worse
-
2 deteriorating day by day
江郎才尽
Jiāng láng cái jìn
-
1 Jiang Yan has exhausted his talent (idiom)
-
2 fig. to have used up one's creative powers
-
3 to have writer's block
无颜见江东父老
wú yán jiàn Jiāng dōng fù lǎo
-
1 (idiom) to be unable to return to one's hometown due to the shame of failure (originally referred to Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiàng Yǔ], who chose not to retreat to Jiangdong after his humiliating defeat)
翻江倒海
fān jiāng dǎo hǎi
-
1 lit. overturning seas and rivers (idiom)
-
2 fig. overwhelming
-
3 earth-shattering
-
4 in a spectacular mess
脸都绿了
liǎn dōu lu:4 le
-
1 green in the face (idiom)
-
2 to look unwell
船到江心，补漏迟
chuán dào jiāng xīn , bǔ lòu chí
-
1 It's too late to plug the leak once ship is in the middle of the river. (idiom)
万里江山
wàn lǐ jiāng shān
-
1 lit. ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains
-
2 a vast territory (idiom)
长江后浪推前浪
Cháng Jiāng hòu làng tuī qián làng
-
1 lit. the rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before (idiom)
-
2 fig. the new is constantly replacing the old
-
3 each new generation excels the previous
-
4 (of things) to be constantly evolving
黄花菜都凉了
huáng huā cài dōu liáng le
-
1 lit. the dishes are cold (idiom)
-
2 fig. to arrive late
-
3 to take one's sweet time