100个中国成语俗语的英文翻译

中华文化博大精深，成语俗语都是智慧结晶，但翻译成英文如果表达不当，却容易引起误解。所以，一起来学学常见中文成语的英译很有必要！

　　01

爱屋及乌

Love me, love my dog.

　　02

百闻不如一见

One look is worth a thousand words.

Seeing is believing.

　　03

比上不足，比下有余

to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst

　　04

笨鸟先飞

A slow sparrow should make an early start.

　　05

不遗余力

spare no effort; go all out; do one's best

　　06

不打不成交

No discord, no concord.

　　07

拆东墙补西墙

rob Peter to pay Paul

　　08

辞旧迎新

bid farewell to the old and usher in the new

　　09

大事化小，小事化了

try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all

　　10

大开眼界

broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener

　　11

国泰民安

the country flourishes and people live in peace

　　12

过犹不及

going beyond the limit is as bad as falling short; excess is just as bad as deficiency;

too much is as bad as too little

　　13

好了伤疤忘了疼

once on shore, one prays no more

　　14

好事不出门，坏事传千里

Bad news travels fast.

　　15

和气生财

harmony brings wealth;

friendliness is conducive to business success

　　16

活到老学到老

never too old to learn

　　17

既往不咎

let bygones be bygones

　　18

金无足赤，人无完人

There are spots even on the sun.

　　19

金玉满堂

Treasures fill the home.

　　20

脚踏实地

be down-to-earth

　　21

脚踩两只船

sit on the fence; be a fence-sitter; have a foot in either camp

　　22

君子之交淡如水

A hedge between keeps friendship green.

　　23

老生常谈，陈词滥调

cut and dried; cliché

　　24

礼尚往来

Courtesy calls for reciprocity.

　　25

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧

Where there is life, there is hope.

　　26

马到成功

achieve immediate victory; win instant success

　　27

名利双收

gain both fame and wealth

　　28

茅塞顿开

be suddenly enlightened

　　29

没有规矩，不成方圆

Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.

　　30

每逢佳节倍思亲

On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.

　　31

谋事在人，成事在天

Man proposes; God disposes.

　　32

弄巧成拙

make a fool of oneself in trying to be smart

　　33

赔了夫人又折兵

suffer a double loss; lose the bait along with the fish

　　34

抛砖引玉

a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale

　　35

破釜沉舟

cut off all means of retreat；burn one's own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end

　　36

抢得先机

take the preemptive opportunities

　　37

巧妇难为无米之炊

One can't make bricks without straw.

　　38

千里之行始于足下

a thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step

　　39

前事不忘，后事之师

Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.

　　40

前怕狼，后怕虎

fear wolves ahead and tigers behind； hesitate in doing something

　　41

强龙难压地头蛇

The mighty dragon is no match for the native serpent.

　　42

瑞雪兆丰年

A fall of seasonal snow gives promise of a fruitful year

　　43

人逢喜事精神爽

People are in high spirits when involved in happy events.

　　44

世上无难事，只怕有心人

Where there is a will, there is a way.

　　45

世外桃源

a retreat away from the turmoil of the world

　　46

人之初，性本善

Humans are born good.

　　47

上有天堂，下有苏杭

Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth

　　48

塞翁失马，焉知非福

a blessing in disguise;

Every cloud has a silver lining.

　　49

三十而立

A man should be independent at the age of thirty. /At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself.

　　50

水涨船高

A ship rises with the tide

　　51

时不我待

Time and tide wait for no man.

　　52

杀鸡用牛刀

use a steam-hammer to crack nuts

　　53

实事求是

seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts

　　54

说曹操，曹操到

speak of the devil

　　55

实话实说

speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is

　　56

实践是检验真理的唯一标准

　　Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

　　57

韬光养晦

　　hide one's capacities and bide one's time

　　58

糖衣炮弹

　　sugar-coated bullets

　　59

天有不测风云

　　Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue

　　60

团结就是力量

Unity is strength.

　　61

跳进黄河洗不清

Even if one jumped into the Yellow River, one can not wash oneself clean - there's nothing one can do to clear one's name

　　62

歪风邪气

unhealthy trends and vulgar practices

　　63

物以类聚，人以群分

Birds of a feather flock together.

　　64

望子成龙

hold high hopes for one's child

　　65

唯利是图

seek nothing but profits; be blind to all but one's own interests

　　66

无中生有

a sheer fabrication out of nothing; fabricate rumors out of thin air

　　67

无风不起浪

There are no waves without wind. Nothing comes of nothing.

　　68

徇私枉法

twist the law to suit one's own purpose

　　69

新官上任三把火

a new broom sweeps clean

　　70

蓄势待发

accumulate strength for a take-off

　　71

心想事成

May all your wish come true

　　72

心照不宣

have a tacit understanding; thoroughly understand each other, without having exchanged a word of explanation

　　73

先入为主

First impressions are firmly entrenched.

　　74

先下手为强

He who strikes first gains the advantage.

The best defense is offense.

　　75

热锅上的蚂蚁

ants on a hot pan

　　76

现身说法

warn people by taking oneself as an example

　　77

息事宁人

pour oil on troubled waters; patch up a quarrel and reconcile the parties concerned

　　78

循序渐进

proceed in an orderly way and step by step; advance gradually in due order

　　79

严以律己，宽以待人

be strict with oneself and lenient with others

　　80

有情人终成眷属

　　Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well.

　　81

有钱能使鬼推磨

　　Money makes the mare go./ Money talks.

　　82

有识之士

　　a man of insight

　　83

有勇无谋

　　bold but not crafty

　　84

有缘千里来相会

　　Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.

　　85

与时俱进

　　keep pace with the times

　　86

以人为本

people-oriented

　　87

因材施教

teach students according to their aptitude

　　88

欲穷千里目，更上一层楼

to ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther.

　　89

欲速则不达

Haste makes waste.

More haste, less speed.

　　90

优胜劣汰

survival of the fittest

　　91

英雄所见略同

Great minds think alike.

　　92

冤家宜解不宜结

Better make friends than make enemies.

　　93

冤假错案

cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases

　　94

一言既出，驷马难追

A promise is a promise.

A real man never goes back on his words.

　　95

招财进宝

bring in wealth and treasure

　　96

债台高筑

become debt-ridden

　　97

众矢之的

target of public criticism

　　98

纸上谈兵

be an armchair strategist

　　99

纸包不住火

You can't wrap fire in paper.

What's done by night appears by day.

　　100

左右为难

caught in a dilemma; between the devil and the deep blue sea