14 classifier for long thin things (rivers, cracks etc), barriers (walls, doors etc), questions (in an exam etc), commands, courses in a meal, steps in a process
1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
4 Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
3 it's all Greek to me
一语道破
yī yǔ dào pò
1 one word says it all (idiom)
2 to hit the nail on the head
3 to be pithy and correct
一通百通
yī tōng bǎi tōng
1 grasp this fundamental point and all the rest will follow (idiom)
不足为外人道
bù zú wéi wài rén dào
1 no use to tell others
2 let's keep this between ourselves (idiom)
串通一气
chuàn tōng yī qì
1 to act in collusion (idiom)
互通有无
hù tōng yǒu wú
1 mutual exchange of assistance (idiom)
2 to benefit from each other's strengths and make up each other's shortfalls
3 to reciprocate with material assistance
4 scratch each other's back
仁义道德
rén yì dào dé
1 compassion, duty, propriety and integrity (idiom); all the traditional virtues
2 mainly used sarcastically, to mean hypocritical
以其人之道,还治其人之身
yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn
1 to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine
你走你的阳关道,我过我的独木桥
nǐ zǒu nǐ de Yáng guān Dào , wǒ guò wǒ de dú mù qiáo
1 lit. you hit the high road, I'll cross the log bridge (idiom)
2 fig. you go your way, I'll go mine
3 you do it your way, I'll do it mine
假道伐虢
jiǎ dào fá Guó
1 to obtain safe passage to conquer the State of Guo
2 to borrow the resources of an ally to attack a common enemy (idiom)
传道受业
chuán dào shòu yè
1 to teach (idiom); lit. to give moral and practical instruction
八仙过海,各显神通
Bā xiān guò hǎi , gè xiǎn shén tōng
1 lit. the Eight Immortals cross the sea, each showing his own special talent (idiom)
2 fig. (of each individual in a group) to give full play to one's unique capabilities
分道扬镳
fēn dào yáng biāo
1 lit. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom)
2 fig. to part ways
半通不通
bàn tōng bù tōng
1 to not fully understand (idiom)
卑卑不足道
bēi bēi bù zú dào
1 to be too petty or insignificant to mention
2 to not be worth mentioning (idiom)
博识多通
bó shí duō tōng
1 knowledgeable and perspicacious (idiom)
口碑载道
kǒu bēi zài dào
1 lit. praise fills the roads (idiom); praise everywhere
2 universal approbation
问道于盲
wèn dào yú máng
1 lit. to ask a blind man the way (idiom)
2 fig. to seek advice from an incompetent
四通八达
sì tōng bā dá
1 roads open in all directions (idiom); accessible from all sides
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