chéng yǔ Chinese set expression, often made up of 4 characters or two couplets of 4 characters each, often alluding to a story or historical quotation; idiom; proverb; saying; adage; set expression

zì xiāng mutual; each other; one another; self-

zì xiāng máo dùn to contradict oneself; self-contradictory; inconsistent

shì jí fair; small town

kuā kǒu to boast

ruì lì sharp; keen; acute; incisive; penetrating; perceptive

dǐ dǎng to resist; to hold back; to stop; to ward off; to withstand

yì lùn fēn fēn there were many discussions

nà ge that one; also pr. [nei4 ge5]

yǎ kǒu wú yán dumbstruck and unable to reply (idiom); left speechless; at a loss for words

xiū kuì ashamed

hé lǐ rational; reasonable; fair

qián hòu around; from beginning to end; all around; front and rear

yǎn ěr dào líng lit. to cover one's ears whilst stealing a bell; to deceive oneself; to bury one's head in the sand (idiom)

tān cái to be greedy in getting money

rén jiā household; dwelling; family; sb else's house; household business; house of woman's husband-to-be

rén jia other people; sb else; he, she or they; I, me (referring to oneself as one or people)

yuàn zi courtyard

zhí qián valuable; costly; expensive

zá suì to pulverize; to smash to bits

tiě chuí iron hammer

zhèn lóng to deafen

zāo gāo too bad; how terrible; what bad luck; terrible; bad

wǔ zhù to cover; to bury one's face

yī wō fēng like a swarm of bees; everyone swarms around pushing and shouting; a hornet's nest

bù liǎo unable to; without end

qī piàn to deceive; to cheat

kè zhōu qiú jiàn lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances

chuán fū boatman

xià shuǐ downstream; to go into the water; to put into water; to launch (a ship); fig. to fall into bad ways; to lead astray; to go to pot

xià shui offal; viscera; tripe

lāo scoop up

háo bù hardly; not in the least; not at all

zài yì to care about; to mind

yī dài pocket

xiǎo dāo knife

chuán xián sides of a ship; ship's railing; fig. the dividing line between shipboard expenses and onshore freight charges

jì hao notation; seal

kào àn (of a boat) to reach the shore; to pull toward shore; close to shore; landfall

lì jí immediately

bàn tiān half of the day; a long time; quite a while

jiǎn zhí simply; at all; practically

bù duàn unceasing; uninterrupted; continuous; constant

fāng fǎ method; way; means