100個中國成語俗語的英文翻譯
中華文化博大精深，成語俗語都是智慧結晶，但翻譯成英文如果表達不當，卻容易引起誤解。所以，一起來學學常見中文成語的英譯很有必要！
01
愛屋及烏
Love me, love my dog.
02
百聞不如一見
One look is worth a thousand words.
Seeing is believing.
03
比上不足，比下有余
To fall short of the best, but be better than the worst.
04
笨鳥先飛
A slow sparrow should make an early start.
05
不遺余力
Spare no effort; go all out; do one's best.
06
不打不成交
No discord, no concord.
07
拆東墻補西墻
Rob Peter to pay Paul.
08
辭舊迎新
Bid farewell to the old and usher in the new.
09
大事化小，小事化了
Try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all.
10
大開眼界
Broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener.
11
國泰民安
The country flourishes and people live in peace.
12
過猶不及
Going beyond the limit is as bad as falling short; excess is just as bad as deficiency;
too much is as bad as too little.
13
好了傷疤忘了疼
Once on shore, one prays no more.
14
好事不出門，壞事傳千里
Bad news travels fast.
15
和氣生財
Harmony brings wealth;
friendliness is conducive to business success.
16
活到老學到老
Never too old to learn.
17
既往不咎
Let bygones be bygones.
18
金無足赤，人無完人
There are spots even on the sun.
19
金玉滿堂
Treasures fill the home.
20
腳踏實地
Be down-to-earth.
21
腳踩兩只船
Sit on the fence; be a fence-sitter; have a foot in either camp.
22
君子之交淡如水
A hedge between keeps friendship green.
23
老生常談，陳詞濫調
Cut and dried; cliché
24
禮尚往來
Courtesy calls for reciprocity.
25
留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒
Where there is life, there is hope.
26
馬到成功
Achieve immediate victory; win instant success.
27
名利雙收
Gain both fame and wealth.
28
茅塞頓開
Be suddenly enlightened.
29
沒有規矩，不成方圓
Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.
30
每逢佳節倍思親
On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.
31
謀事在人，成事在天
Man proposes; God disposes.
32
弄巧成拙
Make a fool of oneself in trying to be smart.
33
賠了夫人又折兵
Suffer a double loss; lose the bait along with the fish.
34
拋磚引玉
A modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale.
35
破釜沉舟
Cut off all means of retreat；burn one's own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end.
36
搶得先機
Take the preemptive opportunities.
37
巧婦難為無米之炊
One can't make bricks without straw.
38
千里之行始于足下
A thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step.
39
前事不忘，后事之師
Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.
40
前怕狼，后怕虎
Fear wolves ahead and tigers behind; hesitate in doing something.
41
強龍難壓地頭蛇
The mighty dragon is no match for the native serpent.
42
瑞雪兆豐年
A fall of seasonal snow gives promise of a fruitful year.
43
人逢喜事精神爽
People are in high spirits when involved in happy events.
44
世上無難事，只怕有心人
Where there is a will, there is a way.
45
世外桃源
A retreat away from the turmoil of the world.
46
人之初，性本善
Humans are born good.
47
上有天堂，下有蘇杭
Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth
48
塞翁失馬，焉知非福
A blessing in disguise;
Every cloud has a silver lining.
49
三十而立
A man should be independent at the age of thirty. /At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself.
50
水漲船高
A ship rises with the tide
51
時不我待
Time and tide wait for no man.
52
殺雞用牛刀
Use a steam-hammer to crack nuts.
53
實事求是
Seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts.
54
說曹操，曹操到
Speak of the devil.
55
實話實說
Speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is.
56
實踐是檢驗真理的唯一標準
Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.
57
韜光養晦
Hide one's capacities and bide one's time.
58
糖衣炮彈
Sugar-coated bullets.
59
天有不測風云
Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue.
60
團結就是力量
Unity is strength.
61
跳進黃河洗不清
Even if one jumped into the Yellow River, one can not wash oneself clean - there's nothing one can do to clear one's name
62
歪風邪氣
Unhealthy trends and vulgar practices.
63
物以類聚，人以群分
Birds of a feather flock together.
64
望子成龍
Hold high hopes for one's child.
65
唯利是圖
Seek nothing but profits; be blind to all but one's own interests.
66
無中生有
A sheer fabrication out of nothing; fabricate rumors out of thin air.
67
無風不起浪
There are no waves without wind. Nothing comes of nothing.
68
徇私枉法
Twist the law to suit one's own purpose.
69
新官上任三把火
A new broom sweeps clean.
70
蓄勢待發
Accumulate strength for a take-off.
71
心想事成
May all your wish come true.
72
心照不宣
Have a tacit understanding; thoroughly understand each other, without having exchanged a word of explanation.
73
先入為主
First impressions are firmly entrenched.
74
先下手為強
He who strikes first gains the advantage.
The best defense is offense.
75
熱鍋上的螞蟻
Ants on a hot pan
76
現身說法
Warn people by taking oneself as an example.
77
息事寧人
Pour oil on troubled waters; patch up a quarrel and reconcile the parties concerned.
78
循序漸進
Proceed in an orderly way and step by step; advance gradually in due order.
79
嚴以律己，寬以待人
Be strict with oneself and lenient with others.
80
有情人終成眷屬
Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well.
81
有錢能使鬼推磨
Money makes the mare go./ Money talks.
82
有識之士
A man of insight.
83
有勇無謀
Bold but not crafty.
84
有緣千里來相會
Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.
85
與時俱進
Keep pace with the times.
86
以人為本
People-oriented.
87
因材施教
Teach students according to their aptitude.
88
欲窮千里目，更上一層樓
To ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther.
89
欲速則不達
Haste makes waste.
More haste, less speed.
90
優勝劣汰
Survival of the fittest.
91
英雄所見略同
Great minds think alike.
92
冤家宜解不宜結
Better make friends than make enemies.
93
冤假錯案
Cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases.
94
一言既出，駟馬難追
A promise is a promise.
A real man never goes back on his words.
95
招財進寶
Bring in wealth and treasure.
96
債臺高筑
Become debt-ridden.
97
眾矢之的
Target of public criticism.
98
紙上談兵
Be an armchair strategist.
99
紙包不住火
You can't wrap fire in paper.
What's done by night appears by day.
100
左右為難
Caught in a dilemma; between the devil and the deep blue sea.
