中华文化博大精深，成语和俗语都是智慧结晶，但翻译成英文，如果表达不当，却容易引起误解。所以，和老师一起来学学常见的中文成语英译很有必要！

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

爱屋及乌

Love me, love my dog.

 

百闻不如一见

One look is worth a thousand words.

 

比上不足，比下有余

To fall short of the best, but be better than the worst.

 

笨鸟先飞

A slow sparrow should make an early start.

 

不遗余力

Spare no effort; go all out; do one's best.

 

不打不成交

No discord, no concord.

 

拆东墙补西墙

Rob Peter to pay Paul.

 

辞旧迎新

Bid farewell to the old and usher in the new.

 

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.

 

国泰民安

The country flourishes and people live in peace.

 

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.

 

好了伤疤忘了疼

Once on shore, one prays no more.

 

好事不出门，坏事传千里

Bad news travels fast.

 

和气生财

Harmony brings wealth;

friendliness is conducive to business success.

 

活到老学到老

Never too old to learn.

 

既往不咎

Let bygones be bygones.

 

金无足赤，人无完人

There are spots even on the sun.

 

金玉满堂

Treasures fill the home.

 

脚踏实地

Be down-to-earth.

 

脚踩两只船

Sit on the fence; 

be a fence-sitter; 

have a foot in either camp.

 

君子之交淡如水

A hedge between keeps friendship green.

 

已成定局

Cut and dried.

 

礼尚往来

Courtesy calls for reciprocity.

 

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧

Where there is life, there is hope.

 

马到成功

Achieve immediate victory; win instant success.

 

名利双收

Gain both fame and wealth.

 

茅塞顿开

Be suddenly enlightened.

 

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.

 

谋事在人，成事在天

Man proposes; God disposes.

 

弄巧成拙

Make a fool of oneself in trying to be smart.

 

赔了夫人又折兵

Suffer a double loss; 

lose the bait along with the fish.

 

抛砖引玉

A modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions;

throw a sprat to catch a mackerel.

 

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.

 

抢得先机

Take the preemptive opportunities.

 

巧妇难为无米之炊

One can't make bricks without straw.

 

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.

 

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.

 

强龙难压地头蛇

The mighty dragon is no match for the native serpent.

 

瑞雪兆丰年

A fall of seasonal snow gives promise of a fruitful year.

 

人逢喜事精神爽

People are in high spirits when involved in happy events.

 

世上无难事，只怕有心人

Where there is a will, there is a way.

 

世外桃源

A retreat away from the turmoil of the world.

 

人之初，性本善

Humans are born good.

 

上有天堂，下有苏杭

Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth

 

塞翁失马，焉知非福

A blessing in disguise;

Every cloud has a silver lining.

 

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

 

时不我待

Time and tide wait for no man.

 

杀鸡用牛刀

Use a steam-hammer to crack nuts.

 

实事求是

Seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts.

 

说曹操，曹操到

Speak of the devil.

 

实话实说

Speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is.

 

实践是检验真理的唯一标准

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

 

韬光养晦

Hide one's capacities and bide one's time.

 

糖衣炮弹

Sugar-coated bullets.

 

天有不测风云

Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue.

 

团结就是力量

Unity is strength.

 

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

 

歪风邪气

Unhealthy trends and vulgar practices.

 

物以类聚，人以群分

Birds of a feather flock together.

 

望子成龙

Hold high hopes for one's child.

 

唯利是图

Seek nothing but profits; be blind to all but one's own interests.

 

 

 

无中生有

A sheer fabrication out of nothing; 

fabricate rumors out of thin air.

 

无风不起浪

There are no waves without wind. Nothing comes of nothing.

 

徇私枉法

Twist the law to suit one's own purpose.

 

新官上任三把火

A new broom sweeps clean.

 

蓄势待发

Accumulate strength for a take-off.

 

心想事成

May all your wish come true.

 

心照不宣

Have a tacit understanding;

thoroughly understand each other, without having exchanged a word of explanation.

 

先入为主

First impressions are firmly entrenched.

 

先下手为强

He who strikes first gains the advantage.

The best defense is offense.

 

热锅上的蚂蚁

Ants on a hot pan

 

现身说法

Warn people by taking oneself as an example.

 

息事宁人

Pour oil on troubled waters; 

patch up a quarrel and reconcile the parties concerned.

 

循序渐进

Proceed in an orderly way and step by step; 

advance gradually in due order.

 

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.

 

有钱能使鬼推磨

Money makes the mare go./ Money talks.

 

有识之士

A man of insight.

 

有勇无谋

Bold but not crafty.

 

有缘千里来相会

Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.

 

与时俱进

Keep pace with the times.

 

以人为本

People-oriented.

 

因材施教

Teach students according to their aptitude.

 

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.

 

欲速则不达

Haste makes waste.

More haste, less speed.

 

优胜劣汰

Survival of the fittest.

 

英雄所见略同

Great minds think alike.

 

冤家宜解不宜结

Better make friends than make enemies.

 

冤假错案

Cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases.

 

一言既出，驷马难追

A promise is a promise.

A real man never goes back on his words.

 

招财进宝

Bring in wealth and treasure.

 

债台高筑

Become debt-ridden.

 

 

 

众矢之的

Target of public criticism.

 

纸上谈兵

Be an armchair strategist.

 

纸包不住火

You can't wrap fire in paper.

What's done by night appears by day.

 

左右为难

Caught in a dilemma;

between the devil and the deep blue sea.