一纸空文
yī zhǐ kōng wén
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1 a worthless piece of paper (idiom)
人去楼空
rén qù lóu kōng
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1 the people are gone and the place is empty (idiom)
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2 the sight of a deserted place brings old friends to mind
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3 the place is deserted
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4 the birds have flown
两手空空
liǎng shǒu kōng kōng
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1 empty-handed (idiom); fig. not receiving anything
劈空扳害
pī kōng bān hài
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1 damaged by groundless slander (idiom)
取长补短
qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn
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1 lit. use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius)
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2 to use this in place of that
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3 what you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts
司空见惯
sī kōng jiàn guàn
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1 a common occurrence (idiom)
吃人家的嘴软,拿人家的手短
chī rén jiā de zuǐ ruǎn , ná rén jiā de shǒu duǎn
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1 lit. the mouth that has been fed by others is soft, the hand that has received doesn't reach (idiom)
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2 fig. one is partial to those from whom presents have been accepted
唱空城计
chàng kōng chéng jì
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1 lit. to sing “The Empty City Stratagem” (idiom)
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2 fig. to put up a bluff to conceal one's weakness
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3 (jocularly) (of a place etc) to be empty
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4 (of one's stomach) to be rumbling
四大皆空
sì dà jiē kōng
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1 lit. the four elements are vanity (idiom)
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2 this world is an illusion
坐吃山空
zuò chī shān kōng
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1 lit. just sitting and eating, one can deplete even a mountain of wealth (idiom)
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2 fig. to spend one's money without generating any income
天低吴楚,眼空无物
tiān dī Wú Chǔ , yǎn kōng wú wù
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1 the sky hangs low over the Yangtze, empty as far as the eye can see (idiom); nothing to see to the broad horizon
天马行空
tiān mǎ xíng kōng
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1 like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies (idiom)
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2 (of writing, calligraphy etc) bold and imaginative
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3 unconstrained in style
张家长,李家短
Zhāng jiā cháng , Lǐ jiā duǎn
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1 lit. the Zhangs are better off than the Lis (idiom); to gossip about the neighbors
凭空捏造
píng kōng niē zào
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1 fabrication relying on nothing (idiom); frame-up
截长补短
jié cháng bǔ duǎn
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1 take from the long to supplement the short (idiom)
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2 to offset each other's deficiencies
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3 to complement each other
挖空心思
wā kōng xīn si
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1 to dig for thoughts (idiom); to search everything for an answer
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2 to rack one's brains
扬长避短
yáng cháng bì duǎn
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1 to foster strengths and avoid weaknesses (idiom)
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2 to play to one's strengths
昼短夜长
zhòu duǎn yè cháng
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1 the winter days are short and the nights long (idiom)
东家长西家短
dōng jiā cháng xī jiā duǎn
残年短景
cán nián duǎn jǐng
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1 at the end of the year (idiom)