| 毕业证书 | bì yè zhèng shū | (PRC) (since 1985) graduation certificate, which certifies that the student has graduated, but not necessarily met all requirements to be awarded a degree certificate 學位證書|学位证书[xue2 wei4 zheng4 shu1] / (1981-1985) graduation certificate, which certified that the student graduated, and, if it included a final sentence indicating a degree type, also certified that the student met all the requirements for a degree |   |
| 名堂 | míng tang | item (in a program of entertainments) / trick (act of mischief) / worthwhile result / accomplishment / sth significant but not immediately apparent / sth more than meets the eye | |
| 治标 | zhì biāo | to treat only the symptoms but not the root cause | |
| 不痛不痒 | bù tòng bù yǎng | lit. doesn't hurt, doesn't tickle (idiom) / sth is wrong, but not quite sure what / fig. not getting to any matter of substance / scratching the surface / superficial / perfunctory | |
| 可遇不可求 | kě yù bù kě qiú | can be discovered but not sought (idiom) / one can only come across such things serendipitously | |
| 心有余而力不足 | xīn yǒu yú ér lì bù zú | the will is there, but not the strength (idiom) / the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak | |
| 好吃懒做 | hào chī lǎn zuò | happy to partake but not prepared to do any work (idiom) / all take and no give | |
| 换汤不换药 | huàn tāng bù huàn yào | different broth but the same old medicine (idiom) / a change in name only / a change in form but not in substance | |
| 听而不闻 | tīng ér bù wén | to hear but not react (idiom) / to turn a deaf ear / to ignore deliberately | |
| 有始无终 | yǒu shǐ wú zhōng | to start but not finish (idiom) / to fail to carry things through / lack of sticking power / short attention span | |
| 敢怒而不敢言 | gǎn nù ér bù gǎn yán | angry, but not daring to speak out (idiom) / obliged to remain silent about one's resentment / unable to voice objections | |
| 博而不精 | bó ér bù jīng | extensive but not refined (idiom) / to know something about everything / jack-of-all-trades, master of none | |
| 哀而不伤 | āi ér bù shāng | deeply felt but not mawkish (idiom) | |
| 有头无尾 | yǒu tóu wú wěi | to start but not finish (idiom) / to fail to carry things through / lack of sticking power / short attention span | |
| 木讷寡言 | mù nè guǎ yán | honest and unaffected but not talkative (idiom) | |
| 有勇无谋 | yǒu yǒng wú móu | bold but not very astute (idiom) | |
| 吃硬不吃软 | chī yìng bù chī ruǎn | susceptible to force but not persuasion | |
| 只见树木，不见森林 | zhǐ jiàn shù mù , bù jiàn sēn lín | only see the trees, but not see the forest (idiom, from Mao Zedong, On contradictions 毛澤東|毛泽东, 矛盾論|矛盾论) / to concentrate on minutiae at the expense of the big picture | |
| 候任 | hòu rèn | -elect / designate / (i.e. elected or appointed but not yet installed) | |
| 厚养薄葬 | hòu yǎng bó zàng | generous care but a thrifty funeral / to look after one's parents generously, but not waste money on a lavish funeral | |
| 只可意会，不可言传 | zhǐ kě yì huì , bù kě yán chuán | can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3]) / mysterious and subtle | |
| 只知其一，不知其二 | zhǐ zhī qí yī , bù zhī qí èr | to know the first, but not know the second (idiom) / only partial information | |
| 可以意会，不可言传 | kě yǐ yì huì , bù kě yán chuán | can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3]) / mysterious and subtle | |
| 心有余，力不足 | xīn yǒu yú , lì bù zú | The will is there, but not the strength (idiom, from Confucian Analects). / I really want to do it, but don't have the resources. / The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. | |
| 有缘无分 | yǒu yuán wú fèn | destined to meet but not fated to be together (idiom) | |
| 次贫 | cì pín | extremely poor but not destitute | |
| 治标不治本 | zhì biāo bù zhì běn | to treat the symptoms but not the root cause | |
| 空日 | kòng rì | day that is named but not numbered (on ethnic calendar) | |
| 笑贫不笑娼 | xiào pín bù xiào chāng | the notion in society that it's better to get ahead in the world by abandoning one's scruples than to suffer poverty / lit. despising poverty but not prostitution (idiom) | |
| 贡士 | gòng shì | (old) candidate who has successfully passed the first grades of the examination system, but not yet the court examination (殿試|殿试[dian4 shi4]) | |
| 靡不有初，鲜克有终 | mǐ bù yǒu chū , xiǎn kè yǒu zhōng | almost everything has a start, but not many things have an end (idiom) / don't start sth you can't handle | |
| 救急不救穷 | jiù jí bù jiù qióng | help the starving but not the poor (idiom) | |
| 吃软不吃硬 | chī ruǎn bù chī yìng | lit. eats soft food, but refuses hard food (idiom) / amenable to coaxing but not coercion | |
| 占着茅坑不拉屎 | zhàn zhe máo kēng bù lā shǐ | lit. to occupy a latrine but not shit (proverb) / fig. to be a dog in the manger | |
| 又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草 | yòu yào mǎ r pǎo , yòu yào mǎ r bù chī cǎo | lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom) / fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too | |
| 背杀 | bèi shā | (slang) (usu. of a woman) sb who looks stunning from behind / sb who has a great figure but not necessarily an attractive face / abbr. for 背影殺手|背影杀手[bei4 ying3 sha1 shou3] | |
| 背影杀手 | bèi yǐng shā shǒu | (slang) (usu. of a woman) sb who looks stunning from behind / sb who has a great figure but not necessarily an attractive face / abbr. to 背殺|背杀[bei4 sha1] | |
| 邮简 | yóu jiǎn | letter sheet (similar to an aerogram but not necessarily sent by airmail) | |
| 知其然而不知其所以然 | zhī qí rán ér bù zhī qí suǒ yǐ rán | to know that it is so but not why it is so (idiom) | |
| 虾男 | xiā nán | (slang) a guy who is like a prawn: yummy body, but not so appealing above the neck | |
