来源:中国日报网双语新闻(ID:chinadaily_mobile)
中华文化博大精深,成语俗语都是智慧结晶,但翻译成英文如果表达不当,却容易引起误解。所以,一起来学学常见中文成语的英译很有必要!
爱屋及乌
Love me, love my dog.
02百闻不如一见
One look is worth a thousand words.
Seeing is believing.
03比上不足,比下有余
To fall short of the best, but be better than the worst.
04笨鸟先飞
A slow sparrow should make an early start.
05不遗余力
Spare no effort; go all out; do one's best.
06不打不成交
No discord, no concord.
07拆东墙补西墙
Rob Peter to pay Paul.
08辞旧迎新
Bid farewell to the old and usher in the new.
09大事化小,小事化了
Try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all.
大开眼界
Broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener.
11国泰民安
The country flourishes and people live in peace.
12过犹不及
Going beyond the limit is as bad as falling short; excess is just as bad as deficiency;
too much is as bad as too little.
13好了伤疤忘了疼
Once on shore, one prays no more.
14好事不出门,坏事传千里
Bad news travels fast.
15和气生财
Harmony brings wealth;
friendliness is conducive to business success.
16活到老学到老
Never too old to learn.
17既往不咎
Let bygones be bygones.
18金无足赤,人无完人
There are spots even on the sun.
19金玉满堂
Treasures fill the home.
脚踏实地
Be down-to-earth.
21脚踩两只船
Sit on the fence; be a fence-sitter; have a foot in either camp.
22君子之交淡如水
A hedge between keeps friendship green.
23老生常谈,陈词滥调
Cut and dried; cliché
24礼尚往来
Courtesy calls for reciprocity.
25留得青山在,不怕没柴烧
Where there is life, there is hope.
26马到成功
Achieve immediate victory; win instant success.
27名利双收
Gain both fame and wealth.
28茅塞顿开
Be suddenly enlightened.
29没有规矩,不成方圆
Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.
每逢佳节倍思亲
On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.
31谋事在人,成事在天
Man proposes; God disposes.
32弄巧成拙
Make a fool of oneself in trying to be smart.
33赔了夫人又折兵
Suffer a double loss; lose the bait along with the fish.
34抛砖引玉
A modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale.
35破釜沉舟
Cut off all means of retreat;burn one's own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end.
36抢得先机
Take the preemptive opportunities.
37巧妇难为无米之炊
One can't make bricks without straw.
38千里之行始于足下
A thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step.
39前事不忘,后事之师
Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.
前怕狼,后怕虎
Fear wolves ahead and tigers behind; hesitate in doing something.
41强龙难压地头蛇
The mighty dragon is no match for the native serpent.
42瑞雪兆丰年
A fall of seasonal snow gives promise of a fruitful year.
43人逢喜事精神爽
People are in high spirits when involved in happy events.
44世上无难事,只怕有心人
Where there is a will, there is a way.
45世外桃源
A retreat away from the turmoil of the world.
46人之初,性本善
Humans are born good.
47上有天堂,下有苏杭
Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth
48塞翁失马,焉知非福
A blessing in disguise;
Every cloud has a silver lining.
49三十而立
A man should be independent at the age of thirty. /At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself.
水涨船高
A ship rises with the tide
51时不我待
Time and tide wait for no man.
52杀鸡用牛刀
Use a steam-hammer to crack nuts.
53实事求是
Seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts.
54说曹操,曹操到
Speak of the devil.
55实话实说
Speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is.
56实践是检验真理的唯一标准
Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.57韬光养晦
Hide one's capacities and bide one's time.58糖衣炮弹
Sugar-coated bullets.59天有不测风云
Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue.团结就是力量
Unity is strength.
61跳进黄河洗不清
Even if one jumped into the Yellow River, one can not wash oneself clean - there's nothing one can do to clear one's name
62歪风邪气
Unhealthy trends and vulgar practices.
63物以类聚,人以群分
Birds of a feather flock together.
64望子成龙
Hold high hopes for one's child.
65唯利是图
Seek nothing but profits; be blind to all but one's own interests.
66无中生有
A sheer fabrication out of nothing; fabricate rumors out of thin air.
67无风不起浪
There are no waves without wind. Nothing comes of nothing.
68徇私枉法
Twist the law to suit one's own purpose.
69新官上任三把火
A new broom sweeps clean.
蓄势待发
Accumulate strength for a take-off.
71心想事成
May all your wish come true.
72心照不宣
Have a tacit understanding; thoroughly understand each other, without having exchanged a word of explanation.
73先入为主
First impressions are firmly entrenched.
74先下手为强
He who strikes first gains the advantage.
The best defense is offense.
75热锅上的蚂蚁
Ants on a hot pan
76现身说法
Warn people by taking oneself as an example.
77息事宁人
Pour oil on troubled waters; patch up a quarrel and reconcile the parties concerned.
78循序渐进
Proceed in an orderly way and step by step; advance gradually in due order.
79严以律己,宽以待人
Be strict with oneself and lenient with others.
有情人终成眷属
Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well.81有钱能使鬼推磨
Money makes the mare go./ Money talks.82有识之士
A man of insight.83有勇无谋
Bold but not crafty.84有缘千里来相会
Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.85与时俱进
Keep pace with the times.86以人为本
People-oriented.
87因材施教
Teach students according to their aptitude.
88欲穷千里目,更上一层楼
To ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther.
89欲速则不达
Haste makes waste.
More haste, less speed.
优胜劣汰
Survival of the fittest.
91英雄所见略同
Great minds think alike.
92冤家宜解不宜结
Better make friends than make enemies.
93冤假错案
Cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases.
94一言既出,驷马难追
A promise is a promise.
A real man never goes back on his words.
95招财进宝
Bring in wealth and treasure.
96债台高筑
Become debt-ridden.
97众矢之的
Target of public criticism.
98纸上谈兵
Be an armchair strategist.
99纸包不住火
You can't wrap fire in paper.
What's done by night appears by day.
100左右为难
Caught in a dilemma; between the devil and the deep blue sea.