Yet, there is a beauty in the way they distill the human condition into a string of four (or five or six) syllables. If you like cultural trivia and the rhythmic poetry of (any) language, there\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ll get a kick and a laugh out of these.<\/p>\n
\u4e00\u77f3\u4e8c\u9e1f (\u4e00\u77f3\u4e8c\u9ce5)<\/h2>\n
one stone, two birds I think this expression is a good jumping-off point for this topic because of its familiarity and simplicity. Did the English saying \u201cKill two birds with one stone\u201d <\/em>come directly or indirectly from this Chinese idiom? I will leave that up to language historians. The meaning and the imagery are the same for both languages.<\/p>\n tiger head, snake tail In expressions involving animals, some beasts tend to represent positive and virtuous qualities, e.g. the tiger, the horse, the dragon. Others, like the pig and the snake, are typically associated with negative, undesirable ones. This contrast is on full display in this case, where \u201ctiger\u2019s head, snakes\u2019 tail\u201d implies a strong start but a weak finish.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n difficult to dismount a tiger To be in a precarious, sticky situation with no easy escape. To be in over your head<\/em>, or perhaps beyond the point of no return<\/em>.<\/p>\n I love that the next two use drawing as an analogy. It seems appropriate for Chinese script, with its highly graphical, three-dimensional representation.<\/p>\n draw dragon, dot the eye To add the finishing touches to something<\/em>, literally to dot the i\u2019s and cross the t\u2019s<\/em>. It can also refer to making a final point that caps a strong argument and closes the case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n draw snake, add legs To ruin something by adding what is superfluous<\/em>, to embellish, to overdo.<\/p>\n play the lute to a cow The reference here is speaking to or performing for an unappreciative audience, i.e. speaking to a wall<\/em>, preaching to deaf ears<\/em>. The slight is not intended for the proverbial cow, but for the speaker or performer who misjudges his audience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n chicken talking to the duck This describes a failure to communicate\u200a\u2014\u200aa scenario where two parties are not on the same page<\/em>, and talking past each other<\/em>.<\/p>\n ivory will not come from a dog\u2019s mouth Truthful or refined speech will not come from the mouth of a crude individual.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n crouching tiger, hidden dragon This phrase is immediately recognizable from the Ang Lee movie of the same name, but what does it mean? For a long time, since martial arts featured prominently in the movie, I assumed that the expression referred to kung-fu positions. In fact, it is used to describe individuals with hidden talents and unexplored potential.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some of my personal favorites.<\/strong><\/p>\n drop pants to fart I love the visual that this projects for the mind\u2019s eye. The meaning is to make things overly complicated<\/em>, to exert unnecessary effort<\/em>. A close match would be crossing a river to get water<\/em>, or a tortuous and convoluted sequence of steps that we might describe as a Rube Goldberg process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n dagger concealed by a smile Friendly manners belying sinister intentions\u200a\u2014\u200aa wolf in sheep\u2019s clothing<\/em>. Notice that this phrase uses the same complicated but very attractive character \u85cf<\/strong> as the previous, meaning \u201cconcealed, hidden\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n long ill, become doctor A prolonged illness turns the patient into a medical expert\u200a\u2014\u200apretty self-explanatory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n occupy the latrine but not shit
\n<\/strong>(Y\u012b sh\u00ed \u00e8r ni<\/em>\u01ce<\/em>o)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u864e\u5934\u86c7\u5c3e (\u864e\u982d\u86c7\u5c3e)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(H<\/em>\u01d4<\/em> t\u00f3u sh\u00e9 w\u011bi)<\/em><\/p>\n\u9a91\u864e\u96be\u4e0b (\u9a0e\u864e\u96e3\u4e0b)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Q\u00ed h<\/em>\u01d4<\/em> n\u00e1n xi\u00e0)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u753b\u9f99\u70b9\u775b (\u756b\u9f8d\u9ede\u775b)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Hu\u00e0 l\u00f3ng di<\/em>\u01ce<\/em>n j\u012bng)<\/em><\/p>\n\u753b\u86c7\u6dfb\u8db3 (\u756b\u86c7\u6dfb\u8db3)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Hu\u00e0 sh\u00e9 ti\u0101n z\u00fa)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u5bf9\u725b\u5f39\u7434 (\u5c0d\u725b\u5f48\u7434)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Du\u00ec ni\u00fa t\u00e1n q\u00edn)<\/em><\/p>\n\u9e21\u540c\u9e2d\u8bb2 (\u96de\u540c\u9d28\u8b1b)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(J\u012b t\u00f3ng y\u0101 ji<\/em>\u01ce<\/em>ng)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u72d7\u5634\u91cc\u5410\u4e0d\u51fa\u8c61\u7259 (\u72d7\u5634\u88e1\u5410\u4e0d\u51fa\u8c61\u7259)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(G<\/em>\u01d2<\/em>u zu<\/em>\u01d0<\/em> l<\/em>\u01d0<\/em> t<\/em>\u01d4<\/em> bu ch<\/em>\u016b<\/em> xi<\/em>\u00e0<\/em>ngy\u00e1)<\/em><\/p>\n\u5367\u864e\u85cf\u9f99 (\u81e5\u864e\u85cf\u9f8d)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(W\u00f2 h<\/em>\u01d4<\/em> c<\/em>\u00e1<\/em>ng l<\/em>\u00f3<\/em>ng)<\/em><\/p>\n\u8131\u88e4\u5b50\u653e\u5c41 (\u812b\u8932\u5b50\u653e\u5c41)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Tu\u014d k\u00f9zi f\u00e0ngp\u00ec)<\/em><\/p>\n\u7b11\u91cc\u85cf\u5200 (\u7b11\u88e1\u85cf\u5200)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Xi\u00e0o l<\/em>\u01d0<\/em> c\u00e1ng d\u0101o)<\/em><\/p>\n\u4e45\u75c5\u6210\u533b (\u4e45\u75c5\u6210\u91ab)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Ji<\/em>\u01d4<\/em> b<\/em>\u00ec<\/em>ng ch<\/em>\u00e9<\/em>ng y\u012b)<\/em><\/p>\n\u5360\u7740\u8305\u5751\u4e0d\u62c9\u5c4e (\u5360\u8457\u8305\u5751\u4e0d\u62c9\u5c4e)<\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>(Zh\u00e0nzhe m\u00e1ok\u0113ng b\u00f9 l\u0101 sh<\/em>\u01d0<\/em>)<\/em><\/p>\n