the back of a body or object / to turn one's back / to hide something from / to learn by heart / to recite from memory / unlucky (slang) / hard of hearing
to support with the hand / to help sb up / to support oneself by holding onto something / to help
完璧归赵
wán bì guī Zhào
lit. to return the jade annulus to Zhao (idiom) / fig. to return something intact to its rightful owner
学无止境
xué wú zhǐ jìng
no end to learning (idiom) / There's always something new to study. / You live and learn.
不伤脾胃
bù shāng pí wèi
lit. doesn't hurt the spleen or the stomach / fig. something that is not critical
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
如有所失
rú yǒu suǒ shī
to seem as if something is amiss (idiom)
姑置勿论
gū zhì wù lùn
to put something aside for the time being (idiom)
树上开花
shù shàng kāi huā
to deck the tree with false blossoms / to make something of no value appear valuable (idiom)
习惯成自然
xí guàn chéng zì rán
habit becomes nature (idiom) / get used to something and it seems inevitable / second nature
醉翁之意不在酒
zuì wēng zhī yì bù zài jiǔ
wine-lover's heart is not in the cup (idiom) / a drinker not really interested in alcohol / having an ulterior motive / to have other things in mind / with an ax to grind / accomplishing something besides what one set out to do
师出有名
shī chū yǒu míng
lit. to have sufficient reason to send troops (idiom) / to do something with good reason / to have just cause
若有所失
ruò yǒu suǒ shī
as if one had lost something (idiom) / to look or feel unsettled or distracted / to feel empty
刻鹄类鹜
kè hú lèi wù
to aim to carve a swan and get a semblance of a duck (idiom) / to fail utterly in trying to copy something / to get a reasonably good, if not perfect, result
洗手不干
xǐ shǒu bù gàn
to totally stop doing something / to reform one's ways
to make a conscious effort / to do something deliberately
挤花
jǐ huā
(cookery) to decorate using a piping bag / to extrude something though a piping bag / piping
浮贴
fú tiē
to glue something lightly enough that it can be removed later
照作不误
zhào zuò bù wù
to do something, never mind the circumstances
没长眼睛
méi zhǎng yǎn jing
(coll.) are you blind or something? / look where you're going
土澳
Tǔ Aò
Australia (slang term reflecting a perception of Australia as something of a backwater)
缺角
quē jiǎo
(of a square shape, such as a house plan) to have a corner missing / (fig.) to lack something / missing piece
前方高能
qián fāng gāo néng
(slang) Something awesome is about to happen! (originally, in a Japanese space battleship anime, it meant "Danger! High energy up ahead!" &mdash / a warning to either prepare for battle or take evasive action)
抓哏
zhuā gén
(of a comedian) to seize on something sb has just said or done to make an ad lib joke
尿点
niào diǎn
the boring part of something (film, show, etc.) where a bathroom break can be taken
丑媳妇早晚也得见公婆
chǒu xí fù zǎo wǎn yě děi jiàn gōng pó
lit. the ugly daughter-in-law must sooner or later meet her parents-in-law (idiom) / fig. it's not something you can avoid forever
东方不亮西方亮
dōng fāng bù liàng xī fāng liàng
if it isn't bright in the east, it'll be bright in the west (idiom) / if something doesn't work here, it might work somewhere else
自作孽
zì zuò niè
disaster one brings on oneself / to be reponsible for something bad that happens to oneself / to have only oneself to blame
吃别人嚼过的馍不香
chī bié rén jiáo guò de mó bù xiāng
lit. bread previously chewed by someone has no flavor (idiom) / fig. there's no joy in discovering something if someone else got there first
意思意思
yì sī yì sī
to do a little something as a token of one's appreciation / to express one's gratitude or esteem by treating sb to a meal or presenting a gift
不怕贼偷就怕贼惦记
bù pà zéi tōu jiù pà zéi diàn jì
much worse than having something stolen is when a thief has you in his sights (idiom)
无利不起早
wú lì bù qǐ zǎo
(saying) people don't get up early unless there is some benefit in doing so / won't lift a finger unless there's something in it for oneself
shén me
