Chinese idioms and expressions that require some interpretation

狗咬耗子

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.

A Paraphrase of Invictus in Chinese

Invictus is a well-known poem written in 1875 by the English poet William Earnest Henley while he was recuperating in the hospital after surgeries were performed to save his right foot. He had contracted tuberculosis about ten years before, and a complication had necessitated the amputation of the lower part of his left leg. Despite the suffering and physical limitations brought about by these infirmities, Henley’s spirit remained undaunted. He laughed at fate in its face. The most frequently quoted part from Invictus is: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” You can click here to read the entire poem.

Following is an interpretation of the poem in Chinese prose. The English text corresponds closely to the Chinese. Notice, however, that the word order is necessarily different in some of the Chinese and English sentences. If you have any questions, please post a comment to this blog.

从这笼罩着我的
Cóng zhè lǒngzhào zhe wǒ de
From the dark night that envelops me,

黑得像从南极到北极的深坑的黑夜中,
hēi dé xiàng cóng nánjí dào běijí de shēn kēng de hēiyè zhòng,
one that is black as a pit going from the South Pole to the North Pole,

我向诸神致谢,
wǒ xiàng zhū shén zhìxiè,
I thank the gods

感谢他们赐给了我一个不可征服的灵魂.
Gǎnxiè tāmen cì gěile wǒ yīgè bùkě zhēngfú de línghún.
for having granted me an invincible soul.

在恶劣处境的爪牙里,
Zài èliè chǔjìng de zhǎoyá lǐ,
In the claws and fangs of adversities,

我没有畏缩, 也没有大声哭泣.
wǒ méiyǒu wèisuō, yě méiyǒu dàshēng kūqì.
I have not winced, nor cried aloud.

经过厄运多次的的打击,
Jīngguò èyùn duō cì de de dǎjí,
Having been repeatedly struck by ill fate,

我的头是血淋淋的, 但依然挺直不屈.
wǒ de tóu shì xiělínlín de, dàn yīrán tǐng zhí bùqū.
my head is bloody, but it is still held high and unyielding.

环绕着这个充满愤怒和泪水的地方,
huánrǎo zhe zhège chōngmǎn fènnù hé lèishuǐ dì dìfāng,
Surrounding this place that is filled with indignation and tears,

除了阴影的恐怖, 别无他物.
chúle yīnyǐng de kǒngbù, biéwú tā wù.
there is nothing except the horror of shadows.

然而, 这多年来的折磨与威胁,
Rán’ér, zhè duōnián lái de zhémó yǔ wēixié,
However, what the torment and menace over these years

它们所面对的仍是无所畏惧的我.
tāmen suǒ miàn duì de réng shì wú suǒ wèijù de wǒ.
are facing is still the fearless me.

无论天堂之门有多狭窄,
Wúlùn tiāntáng zhī mén yǒu duō xiázhǎi,
No matter how narrow the road to Heaven is,

天命有多么坎坷，
tiānmìng yǒu duōme kǎnkě,
or how doomed destiny can be,

我是我命运的主人,
wǒ shì wǒ mìngyùn de zhǔrén,
I am the master of my fate,

我是我灵魂的统帅.
wǒ shì wǒ línghún de tǒngshuài.
and I am the captain of my soul.

Three cheers for all who have such a positive attitude on life!

By the way, one of my readers has made this a particularly enjoyable autumn day for me by sending in his English translation of the beautiful song “Autumn Cicada” to share with us all. You can find it in the Comment section of that blog post.

N.B. Just found out that amazon.com has slashed the price for the print copy of “Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes” to $6.09. If you have been wanting to get this book, now is a good time to do so, before it goes back to the list price.