Chinese ProverbsThis is a featured page

  • Flag of China"Add legs to the snake after you have finished drawing it."
  • "An ant may well destroy a whole dam."
  • "A book holds a house of gold."
  • "Butcher the donkey after it finished his job on the mill."
  • "A crane standing amidst a flock of chickens."
  • "A camel standing amidst a flock of sheep."
  • "Crows everywhere are equally black.
  • " A dish of carrot hastily cooked may still has soil uncleaned off the vegetable."
  • "Dismantle the bridge shortly after crossing it."
  • "Distant water won't help to put out a fire close at hand."
  • "Distant water won't quench your immediate thirst."
  • "Do not want others to know what you have done? Better not have done it anyways."
  • "Donkey's lips do not fit onto a horse's mouth."
  • "A dog won't forsake his master because of his poverty; a son never deserts his mother for her homely appearance."
  • "Dream different dreams while on the same bed."
  • "Even a hare will bite when it is cornered."
  • " Fail to steal the chicken while it ate up your bait grain."
  • "A fall into a ditch makes you wiser."
  • "Fight a wolf with a flex stalk."
  • "A flea on the top of a bald head."
  • "Flowing water never goes bad; our door hubs never gather termites."
  • "A frog in a well shaft seeing the sky."
  • "Flies never visit an egg that has no crack."
  • " A good fortune may forbode a bad luck, which may in turn disguise a good fortune."
  • "Have a mouth as sharp as a dagger but a heart as soft as tofu."
  • "Have one's ears pierced only before the wedding ceremony starts."
  • "A horse cannot gain weight if not fed with extra fodder during the night; a man cannot become wealthy without earnings apart from his regular salaries."
  • "How can you expect to find ivory in a dog's mouth?"
  • "How can you put out a fire set on a cart-load of firewood with only a cup of water?
  • "If you do not study hard when young you'll end up bewailing your failures as you grow up."
  • "If a son is uneducated, his father is at fault."
  • "If you have never done anything evil, you should not be worrying about devils to knock at your door."
  • "An inch of time is an inch of gold but you can't buy that inch of time with an inch of gold."
  • "It is easy to dodge a spear that comes in front of you but hard to keep harms away from an arrow shot from behind."
  • "A Jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated."
  • "Kill a chicken before a monkey."
  • "Kill one to warn a hundred."
  • "Like ants eating a bone."
  • "Looking for the ass on its very back."
  • "Lift a stone only to drop on your own feet."
  • "The longer the night lasts, the more our dreams will be."
  • "Mend the pen only after the sheep are all gone."
  • "No wind, no waves."
  • "Of all the strategems, to know when to quit is the best."
  • "Once bitten by a snake, he is frightened all his life at the mere sight of a rope."
  • "Once on a tiger's back, it is hard to alight."
  • "One cannot refuse to eat just because there is a chance of being choked."
  • "One monk shoulders water by himself; two can still share the labor among them. When it comes to three, they have to go thirsty."
  • "Only when all contribute their firewood can they build up a strong fire."
  • "An overcrowded chicken farm produce fewer eggs."
  • "Pick up a sesame seed but lose sight of a watermelon."
  • "Play a harp before a cow."
  • "Paper can't wrap up a fire."
  • "Reshape one's foot to try to fit into a new shoe."
  • "Regular feet can't be affected by irregular shoes."
  • "Shed no tears until seeing the coffin."
  • "A smile will gain you ten more years of life."
  • "A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den."
  • "Some prefer carrot while others like cabbage."
  • "Steal a bell with one's ears covered."
  • "Three humble shoemakers brainstorming will make a great statesman."
  • "There are always ears on the other side of the wall."
  • "There is no silver here: three hundred taels."
  • "A tiger never returns to his prey he did not finish off."
  • "Vicious as a tigeress can be, she never eats her own cubs."
  • "Waiting for a rabbit to hit upon a tree and be killed in order to catch it."
  • "We are not so much concerned if you are slow as when you come to a halt."
  • "A weasel comes to say 'Happy New Year' to the chickens."
  • "When you are poor, neighbors close by will not come; once you become rich, you'll be surprised by visits from [alleged] relatives afar."
  • "Without rice, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook."
  • "You can't catch a cub without going into the tiger's den."
  • "You think you lost your horse? Who knows, he may bring a whole herd back to you someday."
  • "You won't help shoots grow by pulling them up higher."
  • "You can't expect both ends of a sugar cane are as sweet."
  • "Your fingers can't be of the same length."
  • "Three feet of ice not result from one day of freezing weather. "


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