Chinese Idioms

Changjinglu · Joined: 11 Aug 2006 Posts: 66 Location: London

1. “Shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted”. 无济于事 Wu ji yu shi. (你把马棚的门关了但是马已经逃跑了出来。)
(Doing something too late)

“Sitting on the fence” (remaining neutral – not choosing one side or the other)
(脚踏两只船) Jiao ta liang zhi chuan
例子：在英国，保守党和工党称呼自由党为“一种‘脚踏两只船的党派‘”。
For example, in the UK the Conservative and Labour parties label the Liberal Democrats Party as a “sitting on the fence party”.

3.“Being sent to Coventry” (being ignored or shunned by everyone)
（一个人被别人避免）
(There was a prison in Coventry during the English Civil War - the citizens of Coventry were in a phase of hating the military, possibly also as a result of the Civil War. Such was this hate that the young women of the town were forbidden to speak to the soldiers garrisoned there.
例子：在办公室，你的同事把某个人避免因为他的态度或行为不合适的.
For example, in an office, someone's colleagues ignoring him/her because of bad behaviour or attitude.

4.Cutting off your nose to spite your face. 执迷不悟? Zhi mi bu wu

5. “Using a sledgehammer （大锤）to crack a nut （坚果）”. （用大锤以便把坚果打开） (using extreme means to do something which could be done much more simply). （用复杂的手段以便解决很简单的问题）（浪费努力）

6。Making a mountain out of a molehill. 小题大作 xiao ti da zuo

7。“Trying to run before you can walk”. (试图跑步,但是你连走路依然不会)
（先掌握走路，后能跑步 – 哈哈哈）(Impatience) 轻举妄动？Qing ju wang dong ?（没有有耐性的人）或者太 “amibitious” 的意思。

8。”Keeping up with the Joneses”. Jones 在威尔士，很普遍的姓名，好象在中国的李，张，王 – 所以 Jones 家拥有的东西你也要买/拥有。因为避免丢面。
(Competing with your neighbours/peers for no other reason but so as not to lose face) Jonses (Jones family)= 张三李四 (the average Joe). (Jones is a common family name in Wales like Zhang or Li or Wang in China).
（邻居竞争）- competition between neighbours.

我不知道如何我的中文解释否则地道的，我试试而已！
罗毅/长颈鹿

baiyanoldman · Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 28

“打”字开头的成语举例：
打抱不平 dǎbàobùpíng
a champion of the weak
打成一片 dǎchéngyīpiàn
be integrated with
打击报复 dǎjībàofù
take revenge
打破常规 dǎpòchángguī
break away from convention
打破沙锅问到底 dǎpòshāguōwèndàodǐ
never satisfied util one knows everything
打中要害 dǎzhòngyàohài
strike where it hurts

Changjinglu · Joined: 11 Aug 2006 Posts: 66 Location: London

谢谢 Baiyanoldman.

我学了你的成语/短语。

这两个矛盾的成语。Zhe liang ge maodun de chengyu.
These next two are contradictory proverbs.

树大招风。Shuda zhaofeng. Tall trees catch the wind.
(A warning to people not to speak out).

对方的：duifang de: The opposite is:

敢作敢当：Ganzuo gandang: Stand up and be counted.

学成语的时候我觉得应该学矛盾的成语。
When studying proverbs, study the opposite proverbs.
(Perhaps it is easier to remember things in pairs.)

JuliaYang · Joined: 26 Jul 2006 Posts: 67 Location: London

changjinglu, you not say '矛盾的成语‘，you should say ‘意思相反的成语’
‘矛盾’normally is to descibe someone's thoughts or speach is contradictive, but not to describe a thing.

for example: 我的心情很矛盾
你的说法是矛盾的。
这两个词的意思是相反的。

baiyanoldman · Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 28

Changjinglu · Joined: 11 Aug 2006 Posts: 66 Location: London

好的，谢谢你的解释，
对，我应该多读书以便理解上下文的意思。

长颈鹿。

baiyanoldman · Joined: 08 Aug 2006 Posts: 28

“树”字开头的成语：
树碑立传shu4bei1li4zhuan4 glorify someone by singing the praises of his life
树大根深shu4da4gen1shen1 of great influence and with a solid foundation
树倒猢狲散shu4dao3hu2sun1san4monkeys disperse when tree falls；when a leader falls frim power，his followers disperse
树欲静而风不止shu4yu4jing4er2feng1bu4zhi3 the tree desires stillness but the wind will not cease

Changjinglu · Joined: 11 Aug 2006 Posts: 66 Location: London

我喜欢那个 Monkeys running from a falling tree.
英语说： "Rats escaping a sinking ship".
来自英国的海事历史上。