rivers and lakes / all corners of the country / remote areas to which hermits retreat / section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law / the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠|武侠[wu3 xia2]) / (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc / demimonde / (in modern times) triads / secret gangster societies / underworld
to put a roof (on a building) / to cap the roof (finishing a building project) / fig. to put a ceiling (on spending, prize, ambition etc) / to top off / fig. to reach the highest point (of growth, profit, interest rates) / to stop growing (of plant bud or branch)
扫地
sǎo dì
to sweep the floor / (fig.) (of one's reputation etc) to reach rock bottom / to be at an all-time low
近在咫尺
jìn zài zhǐ chǐ
to be almost within reach / to be close at hand
自问
zì wèn
to ask oneself / to search one's soul / to reach a conclusion after weighing a matter
lit. yellow does not reach green (idiom) / the yellow autumn crop does not last until the green spring crop / temporary deficit in manpower or resources / unable to make ends meet
上达
shàng dá
to reach the higher authorities
莫衷一是
mò zhōng yī shì
unable to reach a decision (idiom) / cannot agree on the right choice / no unanimous decision / still a matter of discussion
鞭长莫及
biān cháng mò jí
lit. the whip cannot reach (idiom) / beyond one's influence / too far to be able to help
lit. the mouth that has been fed by others is soft, the hand that has received doesn't reach (idiom) / fig. one is partial to those from whom presents have been accepted
开弓没有回头箭
kāi gōng méi yǒu huí tóu jiàn
lit. once you've shot the arrow, there's no getting it back (idiom) / fig. once you started sth, there's no turning back / to have to finish what one started / to be determined to reach one's goals in spite of setbacks
lit. the sky is high and the emperor is far away (idiom) / fig. remote places are beyond the reach of the central government
水浅养不住大鱼
shuǐ qiǎn yǎng bù zhù dà yú
lit. shallow waters cannot harbor big fish (idiom) / fig. ambitious, talented people cannot reach their full potential in a small organization
慢热
màn rè
slow to heat up / (fig.) (of a person) reserved / introverted / slow to develop relationships / (of a product etc) to take time to become popular / (sports) slow to reach peak performance
谈妥
tán tuǒ
to come to terms / to reach an agreement
双碳
shuāng tàn
"double carbon", i.e. peak carbon 碳達峰|碳达峰[tan4 da2 feng1] and carbon neutrality 碳中和[tan4 zhong1 he2] / China's double carbon policy, announced in 2020, which aims to reach peak carbon use by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060
jí