Glossary: Chinese idioms and phrases
— The Weak are Prey to the Strong
* aning: the law of the jungle; "Might makes Right"
— Didn't know whether to Laugh or Cry
* aning: to be in an awkward situation; sothing both funny and embarrassing
— As Steady as Mount Tai
* aning: very stable and dependable
— Heavier than Mount Tai / Weightier than Mount Tai
* aning: an extrely serious matter
— To have Eyes but fail to recognize Mount Tai
* aning: to be ignorant or arrogant; to fail to recognize soone or sothing of great status
— To Put in one's Eyes
* aning: to pay attention to; to care about; to attach importance to
* Note: Often used in the negative, aning that soone is disregarding or looking down on soone else. (Example: "They didn't put him in their eyes.")
— The ti it takes an Incense Stick to burn
* aning: a poetic way of referring to a short ti span… depending on the author, generally either 5 minutes or 30 minutes
— The ti it takes to drink a Cup of Tea
* aning: a poetic way of referring to a ti span of about 10-15 minutes
— The ti it takes to eat a al
* aning: a poetic way of referring to a ti span of about 30-45 minutes
— A Breath of ti
* aning: a poetic way of referring to a very short ti span (how long it takes a person to inhale and exhale once)… usually about 1-3 seconds
— All of this takes so ti to describe, but actually happened in an Instant
* aning: a cheeky comnt by an author, usually made after writing a wordy action scene
— Twice the Results for Half the Effort
* aning: the right approach saves effort and leads to better results
— Half the Results for Twice the Effort
* aning: the wrong approach is wasteful and yields weaker results
— Advance by Leaps and Bounds
* aning: to make remarkable progress; to improve very rapidly
— I, your Father / Grandfather
* aning: pejorative slang – a form of address which asserts the speaker's seniority/authority over the person being spoken to, with the intention of deaning them
— Courting Death
* aning: said as a warning or insult to soone overstepping their bounds ("You're courting death!"); said of soone taking serious risks with their life
— Hover between Life and Death
* aning: to suffer terribly; to be within an inch of one's life
— To Die a Dog's Death
* aning: to die miserably and dishonorably; to die in vain
* Note: "To Die a Dog's Death" isn't actually a Chinese idiom, but so translators choose to use it for any kind of phrase with a aning of "to die miserably".
— People die in pursuit of Money, just as Birds die in pursuit of Food
* aning: people will do anything in their ans to beco rich
— Crushing Dry Weeds and Smashing Rotten Wood
* aning: sothing done very easily – illustrates the ease with which the strong dominate the weak
— Chop Nails and Sever Iron
* aning: resolute and decisive; to get straight to the point
— If Gods block, kill the Gods; if Buddhas block, kill the Buddhas
* aning: overco every obstacle
— Mortal Dust / Red Dust of the Mortal World
* aning: worldly affairs or existence; the world and things of mortals (Buddhist term emphasizing the transience and insignificance of this world)
— Under Heaven / Beneath the Heavens
* aning: the world; the mortal world; in all the lands
— Unrivaled under Heaven
* aning: #1 in the world; invincible; undefeated; a paragon
— Heaven and Earth
* aning: the world; the universe; yin and yang; the sky and land; every manifestation of nature
— As different as Heaven and Earth
* aning: a trendous qualitative difference between two things
— To not know the Imnsity of Heaven and Earth
* aning: having an exaggerated opinion of one's own abilities
— There are Heavens beyond the Heavens / There are People beyond People, and Heavens beyond the Heavens
* aning: there's always soone better than you
— Man proposes, Heaven disposes
* aning: even the best-laid plans can go awry
— Heaven's Net is wide, and none can escape its sh
* aning: criminals can't evade justice forever; the way of Heaven is fair, and the guilty will not escape
— Reaching Heaven in a single bound / Ascending to the Skies with a single leap
* aning: to attain instant success
— A at Pie falling from the Heavens
* aning: an unexpected windfall
— To Rebuke Heaven and Earth
* aning: to be extrely powerful; to shake the entire world
— Overturning Heaven and Earth
* aning: causing a radical change
— Heaven and Earth turned upside down
* aning: complete chaos/confusion
— Shrouding the Heavens / Hiding the Sky and Covering the Earth
* aning: omnipresent; extrely powerful; world-changing
— Coughing up Blood
* aning: a sign of serious internal injuries or extre emotional disturbance
— Blood flowing in reverse
* aning: a serious internal injury (generally caused by a cultivation-related backlash or by great physical or ntal trauma)
— Injected with Chicken Blood
* aning: to be very excited or energetic
— Gnashing Teeth
* aning: displaying extre anger or frustration
— To Suck in a Breath of Cold Air
* aning: a reaction caused by shock or surprise
— A Flick of a Sleeve
* aning: a flourish of a long sleeve; a gesture often done in a mont of passion or simply to add emphasis to a statent
— The Seven Orifices / The Seven Apertures
* aning: the seven apertures of the human head (= 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth)
— The Five Viscera and Six Bowels
* aning: the internal organs of the human body
* Note: According to Traditional Chinese dicine… Five Viscera = heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Six Bowels = gall bladder, stomach, large intestine, small intestine, triple heater, and bladder.
— The Seven Emotions and Six Desires
* aning: all of the various feelings which humans possess or can experience
* Note: The Seven Emotions are happiness, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate, and desire. The Six Desires are the sensory pleasures associated with the eyes, nose, ears, tongue, body, and mind.
— Three Views
* aning: (slang) a person's views about life, the world, and values
— The Blue Sea turned into Mulberry Fields
* aning: the transformations of the world; ti brings great changes
— Jade-like
* aning: common descriptor for anything refined/elegant/beautiful; an unblemished, creamy white color (based on mutton-fat jade) when referring to skin/won
— Clear as Ice and Clean as Jade
* aning: spotless; irreproachable; incorruptible
— Limpid Autumn Water
* aning: traditional description of a girl's beautiful eyes – likening them to clear pools of water
— Rare as Phoenix Feathers and Qilin Horns
* aning: extrely rare objects
— To Pick the Flowers and Trample the Grass
* aning: to womanize; to frequent brothels; to "chase skirts"
— Pull up Grass by the Roots
* aning: to completely eradicate; (figuratively) to destroy root and branch
* Note: When referring to people, it ans to kill off their entire family so that there's no one left to take revenge in the future.
— The Rice is Cooked
* aning: what is done cannot be undone
— As the Water recedes, the Rocks appear
* aning: the truth cos to light
— Cleansing the Marrow and Replacing the Tendons
* aning: to purify and strengthen the body
— Shed one's Mortal Body and Exchange one's Bones
* aning: to change completely; to be reborn; to beco an Immortal
— Shatter the Void / Shattering the Void
* aning: to succeed in one's cultivation; to reach the pinnacle of strength; to reach a brand new world and horizon
— As Easy as Lifting a Hand / As Easy as Turning over a Hand
* aning: sothing requiring minimal effort
— Floating Clouds and Flowing Water
* aning: natural and unforced; skillful and beautiful movent
— Experts as Common as the Clouds
* aning: very many experts (comparing them to the number of clouds in the sky)
— Dispel the Clouds and See the Sun
* aning: returning to normality after a period of hardship; to restore justice
— Produce Clouds with one turn of the Hand and Rain with another
* aning: to possess great power or authority
— Call the Wind and Summon the Rain
* aning: to exercise magical powers; to exert authority
— A Mountain of Blades and a Sea of Fire
* aning: extre danger
— Move Mountains and Drain Seas / Topple Mountains and Overturn Seas
* aning: a great display of power
— Overturning Rivers and Seas
* aning: overwhelming; earth-shattering; in a spectacular ss
— Four Ounces can repel a Thousand Pounds
* aning: a Taichi martial arts concept about using a minimal amount of force to overco a much greater opposing force, usually by exploiting leverage and the opponent's montum
— Three Heads, Six Arms
* aning: to possess remarkable abilities or formidable power
— Throw Oneself into the Net
* aning: to willingly walk into a trap
— To Bare Fangs and Brandish Claws
* aning: to make threatening gestures
— With Swords drawn and Bows bent
* aning: a state of mutual hostility
— Impervious to Blades and Spears
* aning: invulnerable; impervious to mortal weapons
— A Kite with its String cut
* aning: sothing gone without recall, blown away uncontrollably
— An Arrow at the end of its flight
* aning: a spent/waning force; sothing which has very nearly exhausted its strength
— Stake All on One Throw
* aning: to risk everything in a single venture
— Pass like Thunder and Move like the Wind
* aning: swift and decisive reaction
— Thunder from a Clear Sky
* aning: sothing completely unexpected
— Wind and Rain
* aning: poor weather; trials and hardships
— Winds and Waves
* aning: difficulties; tough experiences
— Add Oil to the Fire
* aning: to aggravate a situation
— Loot a Burning House
* aning: to profit from soone's misfortune
— To Fish in Troubled Waters
* aning: to take advantage of a crisis
— You'll eat at, We'll drink Soup
* aning: giving up the lion's share of benefits to soone else; begging for scraps
— Reap without Sowing
* aning: to be rewarded without working for it
— Throwing Stones down a Well
* aning: beating soone when they're down
— A Frog in a Well / View the Sky from the Bottom of a Well
* aning: to be ignorant/narrow-minded; to have a myopic perspective
— You Die, I Live / Cannot Live Under the Sa Sky
* aning: irreconcilable enmity
— Fight Poison with Poison
* aning: to cure ills with poison; to fight fire with fire; to et aggression with aggression
— Forget Favors and Violate Justice
* aning: to show ingratitude to a friend or benefactor
— Treasuring a Jade Ring becos a Cri
* aning: having sothing precious invites disaster from the greed of others
— If one often walks by the Riverside, one's Shoes will eventually get wet
* aning: living dangerously or associating with the wrong people will eventually lead to consequences
— A Mantis trying to stop a Chariot
* aning: to overrate oneself and attempt the impossible
— The Mantis stalks the Cicada, unaware of the Oriole behind
* aning: to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger
— When the Sandpiper and the Clam fight each other, it's the Fisherman who benefits
* aning: said when a third party profits from the struggle of others; neighbors who fight each other will lose out to a mutual enemy
— A Fire at the City Gates is also a Disaster to the Fish in the Pond
* aning: a drastic action may unintentionally affect other people and harm innocent bystanders
* Note: The idea is that while the fish might appear to be safe from the fire outside… if the firefighters drain the pond-water to help put out the fire, then even the fish will suffer.
— A Carp leaping through the Dragon Gate
* aning: to make a significant advancent after much effort; to undergo a great transformation (like a carp becoming a dragon)
— Where Fish swim with Dragons / Where Dragons and Snakes intermingle
* aning: a place with a mixture of both strong and weak (or good and bad) people
— Even a Powerful Dragon cannot repress a Local Snake
* aning: an outsider with great power/influence may not be a match for a gangster on his ho turf
— Paint a Dragon and Dot the Eyes
* aning: to add the vital finishing touch; the crucial point that brings the subject to life
— Dragon returning to the Sea
* aning: in one's elent; "like a fish back in water"
— A Dragon among n
* aning: an exceptional and talented person who stands out among others
— Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons
* aning: talented individuals in hiding; concealed talent
— A Fight between a Dragon and a Tiger
* aning: a fierce battle between two powerful opponents
— Dragon's Pool and Tiger's Den
* aning: a very dangerous location
— Paper Tiger
* aning: sothing that seems fierce/threatening but is actually much weaker than it looks
— Like a Tiger that has grown Wings / Like giving Wings to a Tiger
* aning: with redoubled power (a tiger is already fierce… what if it could also fly?)
— Lure the Tiger away from the Mountain
* aning: to lure an enemy out of his territory
— If you ride a Tiger, it's hard to get off
* aning: sothing difficult to stop halfway
— A Tiger Father will not beget a Dog Son
* aning: a great/powerful father will not raise a worthless son (typically said as a complint)
— Pretending to be a Pig to eat a Tiger
* aning: to fake weakness to fool and defeat a strong foe
— The Newborn Calf does not fear the Tiger
* aning: young or inexperienced people are often ignorant
— A Lion uses its full strength even when hunting a Rabbit
* aning: you can't relax even against a weak challenge
— A Toad lusting after a Swan's Flesh
* aning: aspiring after sothing one is not worthy of
— Play the Lute for a Cow
* aning: to do sothing for the wrong audience; "discussing philosophy with a fool"
— Chef Ding carving the Ox
* aning: performing a task effortlessly and with great skill
— A Single Hair from Nine Oxen
* aning: an insignificant amount; "a drop in the bucket"
— A Clay Ox entering the Sea
* aning: to disappear with no hope of returning (like a clay figurine dissolving in water)
— Beat the Grass and Scare the Snake
* aning: to inadvertently alert an enemy; (less commonly) to punish soone as a warning to others
— Drawing Legs on a Snake
* aning: wasted effort; to ruin sothing by adding unnecessary details
— The Dog acts fierce when his Master is present
* aning: to use one's position to bully others
— A starved Cal is still bigger than a Horse
* aning: even weakened, soone strong is still strong
— A Crane in a Flock of Chickens
* aning: soone exceptional who stands out among a crowd of lesser people
— Wanting to steal a Chicken, but instead losing the Bait
* aning: trying to gain an advantage only to end up worse off
— Killing the Chicken to warn the Monkey
* aning: to punish an individual as an example to others
— When the Tree falls, the Monkeys scatter
* aning: opportunists will quickly abandon an unfavorable cause
— Tall Trees attract the Wind
* aning: being outstanding brings adversity in itself
— Half a Day
* aning: (taphor) for a long ti; for quite a while
* Note: It literally ans "half of a day", but often refers to a much shorter period of ti. For example, if two people stare at each other for "half a day", it might have only been an awkwardly long mont.
— Side Dish
* aning: (slang) Noob; a small appetizer… in other words, "a piece of cake"
— Black Belly
* aning: (slang) two-faced; outwardly kind but inwardly evil or manipulative
— Fart / Farting
* aning: (slang) to talk nonsense; "Bullshit!"
— Wear a Green Hat
* aning: a cuckold; to be cuckolded by one's wife
— Intestines turning Green from Regret
* aning: to be completely consud with regret
* Note: The idea is that intestines supposedly turn green in a decomposing body, so this idiom is about figuratively "dying from regret".
— Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals
* aning: useless troops
— The Thirty-Six Stratagems
* aning: a classic list of Chinese stratagems (plans/sches) to be used in war
* Note: A particularly famous idiom says "Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is best". In other words: "If all else fails, retreat".
— Wash one's Hands in a Golden Basin
* aning: to retire from or leave the martial world
— When in the Jianghu, one cannot move freely
* aning: you can't always do as you like; one has to compromise in this world
— Fly across the Rooftops
* aning: lit. "to leap the house and cross the roofridge"; often used to describe the superb movent skills of martial artists in Wuxia novels
— A Teacher for a Day, a Father for Life
* aning: a student should revere and respect soone who was willing to ntor them, even if they could only teach for a short period of ti… similarly, a teacher should nurture and cherish their students as they would their own children
— A Thousand-mile Journey begins with the First Step
* aning: great accomplishnts co from an accumulation of small achievents made one by one
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