一心二用
yī xīn èr yòng
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1 to do two things at once (idiom)
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2 to multitask
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3 to divide one's attention
一针见血
yī zhēn jiàn xiě
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1 lit. to draw blood on the first prick (idiom)
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2 fig. to hit the nail on the head
不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ
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1 don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)
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2 there's more than one way to skin a cat
兵不血刃
bīng bù xuè rèn
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1 lit. no blood on the men's swords (idiom); fig. an effortless victory
刀不磨要生锈,人不学要落后
dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu
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1 a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)
切中要害
qiè zhòng yào hài
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1 to hit the target and do real damage (idiom)
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2 fig. to hit where it hurts
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3 fig. to hit home
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4 an argument that hits the nail on the head
别有用心
bié yǒu yòng xīn
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1 to have an ulterior motive (idiom)
别无他用
bié wú tā yòng
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1 to have no other use or purpose (idiom)
刚愎自用
gāng bì zì yòng
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1 obstinate and self-opinionated (idiom)
割鸡焉用牛刀
gē jī yān yòng niú dāo
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1 lit. why use a pole-ax to slaughter a chicken? (idiom)
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2 fig. to waste effort on a trifling matter
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3 also written 殺雞焉用牛刀|杀鸡焉用牛刀[shā jī yān yòng niú dāo]
又要马儿跑,又要马儿不吃草
yòu yào mǎ r5 pǎo , yòu yào mǎ r5 bù chī cǎo
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1 lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom)
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2 fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too
只要功夫深,铁杵磨成针
zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn
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1 If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.
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2 cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task
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3 to study diligently
吃人血馒头
chī rén xuè mán tou
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1 to take advantage of others' misfortune (idiom)
含血喷人
hán xuè pēn rén
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1 to make false accusations against sb (idiom)
呕心沥血
ǒu xīn lì xuè
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1 lit. to spit out one's heart and spill blood (idiom)
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2 to work one's heart out
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3 blood, sweat and tears
大材小用
dà cái xiǎo yòng
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1 using a talented person in an insignificant position (idiom)
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2 a sledgehammer to crack a nut
天要落雨,娘要嫁人
tiān yào luò yǔ , niáng yào jià rén
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1 the rain will fall, the womenfolk will marry (idiom)
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2 fig. the natural order of things
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3 something you can't go against
宽打窄用
kuān dǎ zhǎi yòng
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1 to give oneself leeway (idiom)
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2 to allow room for error
感情用事
gǎn qíng yòng shì
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1 to act impetuously (idiom); on an impulse
惯用语
guàn yòng yǔ
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1 commonly used phrase
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2 idiom
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3 colloquial usage