idol drama / drama series in which the actors are chosen for their preexisting popularity with young viewers
七夕
Qī xī
double seven festival, evening of seventh of lunar seventh month / girls' festival / Chinese Valentine's day, when Cowherd and Weaving maid 牛郎織女|牛郎织女 / are allowed their annual meeting
韭菜
jiǔ cài
garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), aka Chinese chives / (fig.) retail investors who lose their money to more experienced operators (i.e. they are "harvested" like garlic chives)
menfolk (collective term for men of different generations) / husbands and their fathers etc
倒转
dào zhuǎn
to make an about-turn / to reverse one's direction, policy, sequence etc / to turn things on their head
牲口
shēng kou
animals used for their physical strength (mules, oxen etc) / beast of burden
登临
dēng lín
to visit places famous for their scenery
乡民
xiāng mín
villager / (Tw) (Internet slang) person who likes to follow online discussions and add their opinions
拗不过
niù bu guò
can't persuade / unable to make (sb) change their mind / unable to resist (sb)
将计就计
jiāng jì jiù jì
to beat sb at their own game (idiom)
察言观色
chá yán guān sè
to weigh up sb's words and observe their facial expression (idiom) / to discern what sb thinks from his body language
反哺
fǎn bǔ
to support one's parents in their old age / to show filial piety / to to repay / to return a favor
各抒己见
gè shū jǐ jiàn
everyone gives their own view
双开
shuāng kāi
to strip sb of their Party membership and government job (開除黨籍，開除公職|开除党籍，开除公职)
陪读
péi dú
to accompany one's child or spouse who is studying overseas / to help a child with their study, reading or practicing together
富农
fù nóng
rich peasant / social class of people farming their own land, intermediate between land-owner class 地主[di4 zhu3] and poor peasant 貧農|贫农[pin2 nong2]
上供
shàng gòng
to make offerings (to gods or ancestors) / to offer gifts to superiors in order to win their favor
人尽其才
rén jìn qí cái
employ one's talent to the fullest / everyone gives of their best
殷商
Yīn shāng
final name of the Shang dynasty after their move to Yinxu 殷墟 / in modern Henan province
井水不犯河水
jǐng shuǐ bù fàn hé shuǐ
everyone minds their own business
碟仙
dié xiān
form of divination similar to the Ouija board, in which participants use their forefingers to push a small saucer over a sheet of paper inscribed with numerous Chinese characters
(category defined by the Communist Party) poor and lower-middle peasants: farmers who, before land reform, possessed little or no land (poor peasants) and those who were barely able to support themselves with their own land (lower-middle peasants)
Qixi Festival or Double Seven Festival on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month / girls' festival / Chinese Valentine's day, when Cowherd and Weaving maid 牛郎織女|牛郎织女[niu2 lang3 zhi1 nu:3] are allowed their annual meeting
耍无赖
shuǎ wú lài
to act shamelessly / to behave in a way that leaves others tut-tutting and shaking their heads in disapproval
任人唯贤
rèn rén wéi xián
to appoint people according to their merits (idiom) / appointment on the basis of ability and integrity
上行下效
shàng xíng xià xiào
subordinates follow the example of their superiors (idiom)
听其自然
tīng qí zì rán
to let things take their course / to take things as they come
啃老族
kěn lǎo zú
(coll.) adults still living with and depending on their parents
lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom) / fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices
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!
任其自然
rèn qí zì rán
to let things take their course (idiom) / to leave it to nature / laissez-faire
各有所好
gè yǒu suǒ hào
everyone has their likes and dislikes (idiom)
迷魂汤
mí hún tāng
potion given to souls before they are reincarnated, which makes them forget their previous life (aka 孟婆汤[meng4 po2 tang1]) / magic potion / (fig.) bewitching words or actions
庸人自扰
yōng rén zì rǎo
lit. silly people get their panties in a bunch (idiom) / fig. to get upset over nothing / to make problems for oneself
诸子百家
zhū zǐ bǎi jiā
the Hundred Schools of Thought, the various schools of thought and their exponents during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770-220 BC)
virtuous achievements come to their successful conclusion (idiom)
对号入座
duì hào rù zuò
to take one's seat according to the ticket number / (fig.) to put (things or people) in their right place / to take a general comment as a personal attack
杯酒释兵权
bēi jiǔ shì bīng quán
to dismiss military hierarchy using wine cups / cf Song founding Emperor Song Taizu 宋太祖 / holds a banquet in 961 and persuades his senior army commanders to go home to their provinces
民穷财尽
mín qióng cái jìn
the people are impoverished, their means exhausted (idiom) / to drive the nation to bankruptcy
老马恋栈
lǎo mǎ liàn zhàn
lit. the old horse loves his stable / fig. sb old but reluctant to relinquish their post (idiom)
落叶归根
luò yè guī gēn
lit. a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom) / fig. all things go back to their source eventually / in old age, an expatriate returns home
赶鸭子上架
gǎn yā zi shàng jià
lit. to drive a duck onto a perch (idiom) / fig. to push sb to do sth way beyond their ability
食肉寝皮
shí ròu qǐn pí
to eat sb's flesh and sleep on their hide (idiom) / to swear revenge on sb / implacable hatred / to have sb's guts for garters
郑人争年
Zhèng rén zhēng nián
Men of Zheng fighting over their respective ages (idiom) / a futile quarrel
看人下菜碟儿
kàn rén xià cài dié r
(dialect) to treat sb according to their social status, relationship with them etc (idiom) / not to treat everyone equally favorably
看人行事
kàn rén xíng shì
to treat people according to their rank and one's relationship with them (idiom)
闻名不如见面
wén míng bù rú jiàn miàn
knowing sb by their reputation can't compare to meeting them in person (idiom)
成败论人
chéng bài lùn rén
to judge people based on their success or failure (idiom)
知人善任
zhī rén shàn rèn
expert at appointing people according to their abilities (idiom) / to put the right people in the right places
事无巨细
shì wú jù xì
lit. things are not separated according to their size (idiom) / fig. to deal with any matter, regardless of its importance
白头谐老
bái tóu xié lǎo
live to ripe old age in conjugal bliss / remain a devoted couple to the end of their lives
上有政策，下有对策
shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè
The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
人各有所好
rén gè yǒu suǒ hào
everyone has their likes and dislikes / there is no accounting for taste / chacun son goût
人尽其材
rén jìn qí cái
employ one's talent to the fullest / everyone gives of their best / also written 人盡其才|人尽其才
剃发令
tì fà lìng
the Qing order to all men to shave their heads but keep a queue, first ordered in 1646
反间
fǎn jiàn
to feed the enemy misinformation through their own spies / to sow discord in the enemy camp
各显所长
gè xiǎn suǒ cháng
each displays their own strengths (idiom)
合婚
hé hūn
casting a couple's fortune based on their bithdates (old)
吖嗪
ā qín
-azine / heterocyclic compound containing nitrogen in their ring such as pyridine 吡啶[bi3 ding4] C5H5N, pyrazine 噠嗪|哒嗪[da1 qin2] C4H4N2 or pyrimidine 嘧啶[mi4 ding4] C4H4N2
大东亚共荣圈
Dà Dōng yà Gòng róng quān
Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japanese wartime slogan for their short-lived Pacific Empire, first enunciated by Prime Minister Prince KONOE Fumimaro 近衛文麿|近卫文麿 / in 1938
尾生
Wěi Shēng
Wei Sheng (legendary character who waited for his love under a bridge until he was drowned in the surging waters) / sb who keeps to their word no matter what
房魔
fáng mó
"housing devil", real estate developer or realtor accused of manipulating the property market in their favor
援助交际
yuán zhù jiāo jì
Enjo-kōsai or "compensated dating", a practice which originated in Japan where older men give money or luxury gifts to women for their companionship and sexual favors
擒贼擒王
qín zéi qín wáng
to defeat the enemy by capturing their chief (idiom)
晒客
shài kè
person who shares their experiences and thoughts with others on the Internet
满门抄斩
mǎn mén chāo zhǎn
to execute the whole family and confiscate their property
爭相
zhēng xiāng
to fall over each other in their eagerness to...
监视居住
jiān shì jū zhù
(PRC law) residential surveillance / to order sb to stay at their home, or a designated location, under surveillance
聚萤映雪
jù yíng yìng xuě
lit. to collect fireflies and study by their light (idiom) / fig. ambitious student from impoverished background / burning the midnight oil
联产到劳
lián chǎn dào láo
to pay sb according to their productivity
能弱能强
néng ruò néng qiáng
to be either weak or strong both have their purpose (idiom)
藏象
zàng xiàng
hidden inner properties and their external manifestations (TCM)
蚕山
cán shān
silkworm nest (bundle of straw etc provided for silkworm to spin their cocoons)
蚕蔟
cán cù
silkworm nest (bundle of straw etc provided for silkworm to spin their cocoons)
访贫问苦
fǎng pín wèn kǔ
to visit the poor and ask about their suffering (idiom)
路霸
lù bà
brigand / (modern) uncivil driver / road hog / (PRC) person who sets up an illegal toll / (Tw) person who uses a part of the street as their private parking place
qí
