Some Chinese idioms are similar to their English equivalents, and are therefore more easy to understand. For example, 光阴似箭 (Guāngyīn sì jiàn) means time is like an arrow; in other words, time flies. Many other Chinese idioms and expressions take a bit more effort to understand. Take a look at each of the following idiom sand expressions and see if you can guess its meaning without peeping at the interpretation that follows.
气味相投 (qìwèixiāngtóu)
This idiom describes how the odors of two persons are agreeable to each other. In other words, they are of like minds. It’s debatable whether there are actual pheromes involved.
他们两位气味相投.
Tāmen liǎng wèi qìwèi xiāngtóu.
The two of them are of like minds and get along well.
開門見山 (kāiménjiànshān)
When you open the door, you see the mountain right away. This means to come straight to the point.
他開門見山说要借三百元.
Tā kāiménjiànshān shuō yào jiè sānbǎi yuán.
He went straight to the point and said that he would borrow three hundred yuan.
三教九流 (sānjiàojiǔliú)
Lumping the miscellaneous religious sects and non-mainstream schools together, this is a derogatory term referring to people in various trades or people of all sorts that are not held in high respect. A similar term referring to individual nobodies is 阿猫阿狗 (āmāo āgǒu).
他与三教九流都有来往.
Tā yǔ sānjiàojiǔliú dōu yǒu láiwǎng.
He has contacts with all sorts of people.
天衣无缝 (tiānyēwúfèng)
缝 (féng) pronounced in the second tone means to sew or to stitch, where as 缝 (fèng) pronounced in the fourth tone means a seam, a crack or a fissure. Therefore, “a seamless heavenly robe” means flawless.
他的计划不能说是天衣无缝的.
Tā de jì huá bùnéng shuō shì tiānyīwúfèng de.
His plan cannot be said to be flawless.
异想天开 (yìxiǎngtiānkāi)
In Chinese, the word 天 (tiā) refers to both the sky and the heaven. When heaven opens, one would expect to be showered upon with all kinds of blessings. Therefore, this expression means to have a very fantastic idea, to daydream, or to have one’s head in the clouds.
以他微薄的收入, 拥有一架私人飞机简直是异想天开.
Yǐ tā wéibó de shōurù, yǒngyǒu yī jià sīrén fēijī jiǎnzhí shì yìxiǎngtiānkāi.
With his meager income, owning a private jet is simply fantastic.
狗咬耗子 (gǒu yǎo hàozi)
It’s the cat’s job to catch mice. Therefore, when a dog gets a mouse, it’ like sticking one’s thumb in a pie. This idiom is usually followed by “多管闲事 (duō guǎn xiánshì)”.
哼! 真是狗咬耗子, 多管闲事!
Hēng! Zhēnshi gǒu yǎo hàozi, duō guǎn xiánshì!
Hmph! Meddling in my business like a dog catching a mouse!
九牛二虎 (jiǔ niú èr hǔ)
When it takes nine bulls and two tigers to pull a load, that means the task requires an inordinate amount of effort to accomplish.
他费了九牛二虎的力气才把柜子搬到楼上.
Tā fèile jiǔ niú èr hǔ de lìqì cái bǎ guìzi bān dào lóu shàng.
It took him an inordinate amount of effort to move the cabinet upstairs.
换汤不换药 (huàntāngbùhuànyào)
Chinese herb medicine is normally prepared by steeping or simmering an assortment of herbs in water to make a drink or soup. Adding fresh water to spent herbs won’t produce an effective concoction. This idiom refers to a change in form but not in content, or presenting the same old stuff with a different label.
这个新政策还是那老套, 换汤不换药.
Zhège xīn zhèngcè háishì nà lǎo tào, huàn tāng bù huàn yào.
This new policy is still like the old stuff, changing out the soup but not the medicine.
See Chapter 28 in “Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes” for a collection of commonly used Chinese idioms and expressions.
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