chicken stock / chicken soup / (fig.) chicken soup for the soul &ndash / i.e. feel-good motivational stories (often used disparagingly because the stories don't really effect change in people's lives)
lit. wind past your ear / fig. sth you don't pay much attention to / in one ear and out the other
欲速则不达
yù sù zé bù dá
lit. to want sth in haste, but cannot get there (idiom, from Analects) / more haste, less speed / don't try to run before you can walk
乐极生悲
lè jí shēng bēi
extreme joy turns to sorrow (idiom) / Don't celebrate too soon, things could still go wrong!
饮水思源
yǐn shuǐ sī yuán
lit. when you drink water, think of its source (idiom) / gratitude for blessings and their well-spring / Don't forget where your happiness come from. / Be grateful for all your blessings!
不以辞害志
bù yǐ cí hài zhì
don't let rhetoric spoil the message (idiom) / don't get carried away with flowery speech to the detriment of what you want to say
不打不成相识
bù dǎ bù chéng xiāng shí
don't fight, won't make friends (idiom) / an exchange of blows may lead to friendship
呼牛作马
hū niú zuò mǎ
to call sth a cow or a horse (idiom) / it doesn't matter what you call it / Insult me if you want, I don't care what you call me.
呼牛呼马
hū niú hū mǎ
to call sth a cow or a horse (idiom) / it doesn't matter what you call it / Insult me if you want, I don't care what you call me.
坐不垂堂
zuò bù chuí táng
lit. don't sit under the eaves (where tiles may fall from the roof) (idiom) / fig. keep out of danger
杀鸡焉用牛刀
shā jī yān yòng niú dāo
don't use a sledgehammer on a nut / aquila non capit muscam
水至清则无鱼
shuǐ zhì qīng zé wú yú
Water that is too clear has few fish, and one who is too critical has few friends (idiom) / You cannot expect everyone to be squeaky clean. / Don't be too picky!
牝牡骊黄
pìn mǔ lí huáng
a black stallion or possibly a yellow mare (idiom) / don't judge by outward appearance
瓜田不纳履
guā tián bù nà lu:3
lit. don't tie your shoe-laces in a melon-patch / fig. don't do anything that might arouse suspicion / innocent acts may be misconstrued
骊黄牝牡
lí huáng pìn mǔ
a black stallion or possibly a yellow mare (idiom) / don't judge by outward appearance
家丑不可外扬
jiā chǒu bù kě wài yáng
lit. family shames must not be spread abroad (idiom) / fig. don't wash your dirty linen in public
不在其位不谋其政
bù zài qí wèi bù mòu qí zhèng
don't meddle in affairs that are not part of your position (Confucius)
don't forget past events, they can guide you in future (idiom) / benefit from past experience
取其精华，去其糟粕
qǔ qí jīng huá , qù qí zāo pò
take the cream, discard the dross (political and educational slogan) / keep what is good, discard the rest / You need to be selective when studying. / In modernizing the country, don't accept uncritically all foreign ideas.
天无绝人之路
tiān wú jué rén zhī lù
Heaven never bars one's way (idiom) / don't despair and you will find a way through. / Never give up hope. / Never say die.
好道
hǎo dào
don't tell me ... / could it be that...?
学如逆水行舟，不进则退
xué rú nì shuǐ xíng zhōu , bù jìn zé tuì
study is like rowing upstream &ndash / if you don't keep pushing forward, you fall behind
家丑不可外传
jiā chǒu bù kě wài chuán
lit. family shames must not be spread abroad (idiom) / fig. don't wash your dirty linen in public
Don't spread abroad the shame of the family, don't believe rumors lightly (common expression) / Don't wash your dirty linen in public, don't listen to others' gossip.
小洞不堵，大洞难补
xiǎo dòng bù dǔ , dà dòng nán bǔ
If you don't plug the small hole, the big hole will be hard to repair (idiom) / A stitch in time saves nine.
What you don't want done to you, don't do to others. (idiom, from the Confucian analects) / Do as you would be done by. / Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.
后车之鉴
hòu chē zhī jiàn
lit. warning to the following cart (idiom) / don't follow the track of an overturned cart / fig. draw lesson from the failure of one's predecessor / learn from past mistake / once bitten twice shy
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.
If you want to condemn sb, don't worry about the pretext (idiom, from Zuozhuan 左傳|左传) / one can always trump up a charge against sb / Give a dog a bad name, then hang him. / also written 慾加之罪,何
欲加之罪，何患无辞
yù jiā zhī zuì , hé huàn wú cí
If you want to condemn sb, don't worry about the pretext (idiom, from Zuozhuan 左傳|左传) / one can always trump up a charge against sb / Give a dog a bad name, then hang him.
有子存焉
yǒu zǐ cún yān
I still have sons, don't I? / fig. future generations will continue the work
杀人不过头点地
shā rén bù guò tóu diǎn dì
It's all exaggeration, you don't need to take it seriously / a fuss about nothing / nothing to write home about
杀鸡何必要用牛刀呢
shā jī hé bì yào yòng niú dāo ne
don't use a sledgehammer to crack a nut / de minimis non curat praetor (trivial matters are of no concern to a high official)
to believe what one sees, not what one hears (idiom). Don't believe what people tell you until you see if for yourself. / It ain't necessarily so.
耳听为虚，眼见为实
ěr tīng wéi xū , yǎn jiàn wéi shí
Take what you hear to be false, only believe it when you see it (idiom). Don't believe what people tell you until you see if for yourself. / It ain't necessarily so.
肥水不流外人田
féi shuǐ bù liú wài rén tián
lit. don't let one's own fertile water flow into others' field / fig. keep the goodies within the family (proverb)
若要人不知，除非己莫为
ruò yào rén bù zhī , chú fēi jǐ mò wéi
If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it (idiom). fig. If you do something bad, people will inevitably hear about it.
盖棺定论
gài guān dìng lùn
don't pass judgment on a person's life until the lid is on the coffin (idiom)
言者无罪，闻者足戒
yán zhě wú zuì , wén zhě zú jiè
don't blame the speaker, take note of his warning (idiom) / an exhortation to speak one's mind without fear of reprisals, and with the expectation of being taken seriously
almost everything has a start, but not many things have an end (idiom) / don't start sth you can't handle
饮流怀源
yǐn liú huái yuán
lit. when you drink water, think of its source (idiom) / gratitude for blessings and their well-spring / Don't forget where your happiness come from. / Be grateful for all your blessings!
好马不吃回头草
hǎo mǎ bù chī huí tóu cǎo
lit. a good horse doesn't turn around and graze the same patch again (idiom) / fig. once you've moved on, don't go back again (romantic relationship, job etc) / leave the past behind
sweep the snow from your own door step, don't worry about the frost on your neighbor's roof (idiom)
瓜田不纳履，李下不整冠
guā tián bù nà lu:3 , lǐ xià bù zhěng guān
lit. don't tie your shoelaces in a melon patch, and don't adjust your hat under a plum tree (idiom) / fig. don't do anything that might arouse suspicion / innocent acts may be misconstrued
不见兔子不撒鹰
bù jiàn tù zi bù sā yīng
you don't release the hawk until you've seen the hare (idiom) / one doesn't act before one is sure to succeed
心急吃不了热豆腐
xīn jí chī bu liǎo rè dòu fu
hasty men don't get to eat hot tofu (idiom) / one just has to be patient / haste will ruin everything
有木有
yǒu mù yǒu
(slang) come on, you can't deny it! / don't you think so?! / (melodramatic form of 有沒有|有没有[you3 mei2 you3])
不怕不识货，只怕货比货
bù pà bù shí huò , zhǐ pà huò bǐ huò
lit. don't worry about not knowing goods, but about comparing them (proverb) / fig. goods' (or person's) true value can only be determined through comparison
xiū
