123個常見中國成語英譯

• 2026考研英語全程班 6班
• 26考研全科上岸規劃營「擇校▪規劃▪備考」
• 2026考研專業課復習資料「真題▪筆記▪講義▪題庫」

　

1.愛屋及烏 Love me, love my dog.

2.百聞不如一見 (眼見為實)Seeing is believing.

3.比上不足比下有余 worse off than some, better off than many; to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst.

4.笨鳥先飛 A slow sparrow should make an early start.

5.不眠之夜 white night

6.不以物喜不以己悲 not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personal losses

7.不遺余力 spare no effort; go all out; do one's best

8.不打不成交 No discord, no concord.

9.拆東墻補西墻 rob Peter to pay Paul

10.辭舊迎新 bid farewell to the old and usher in the new; ring out the old year and ring in the new

11.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

12.大開眼界 open one's eyes; broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener

13.國泰民安 The country flourishes and people live in peace

14.過猶不及 going too far is as bad as not going far enough; beyond is as wrong as falling short; too much is as bad as too little

15.功夫不負有心人 Everything comes to him who waits.

16.好了傷疤忘了疼 once on shore, one prays no more

17.好事不出門惡事傳千里 Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spread far and wide.

18.和氣生財 Harmony brings wealth.

19.活到老學到老 One is never too old to learn.

20.既往不咎 let bygones be bygones

21.金無足赤，人無完人 Gold can't be pure and man can't be perfect.

22.金玉滿堂 Treasures fill the home.

23.腳踏實地 be down-to-earth

24.腳踩兩只船 sit on the fence

25.君子之交淡如水 the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as crystal; a hedge between keeps friendship green

26.老生常談，陳詞濫調 cut and dried, cliché，stereotype

27.禮尚往來 Courtesy calls for reciprocity.

28.留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒 Where there is life, there is hope.

29.馬到成功 achieve immediate victory; win instant success

30.名利雙收 gain in both fame and wealth

31.茅塞頓開 be suddenly enlightened

32.沒有規矩，不成方圓 Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.

33.每逢佳節倍思親 On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most.

34.謀事在人，成事在天 The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. Man proposes, God disposes.

35.弄巧成拙 be too smart by half; Cunning outwits itself

36.拿手好戲 masterpiece

37.賠了夫人又折兵 throw good money after bad

38.拋磚引玉 a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale

39.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

40.搶得先機 take the preemptive opportunities

41.巧婦難為無米之炊 If you have no hand you can't make a fist. One can't make bricks without straw.

42.千里之行始于足下 a thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step

43.前事不忘后事之師 Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.

44.前人栽樹,后人乘涼 One generation plants the trees in whose shade another generation rests.One sows and another reaps.

45.前怕狼,后怕虎 fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind, hesitate in doing something

46.強龍難壓地頭蛇 Even a dragon (from the outside) finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt - Powerful outsiders can hardly afford to neglect local bullies.

47.強強聯手 win-win co-operation

48.瑞雪兆豐年 A timely snow promises a good harvest.

49.人之初，性本善 Man's nature at birth is good.

50.人逢喜事精神爽 Joy puts heart into a man.

51.人海戰術 huge-crowd strategy

52.世上無難事，只要肯攀登 Where there is a will, there is a way.

53.世外桃源 a fictitious land of peace away from the turmoil of the world;

54.死而后已 until my heart stops beating

55.歲歲平安 Peace all year round.

56.上有天堂，下有蘇杭 Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth

57.塞翁失馬，焉知非福 Misfortune may be an actual blessing.

58.三十而立 A man should be independent at the age of thirty. At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself.

59.升級換代 updating and upgrading (of products)

60.四十不惑 Life begins at forty.

61.誰言寸草心，報得三春暉 Such kindness of warm sun, can't be repaid by grass.

62.水漲船高 When the river rises, the boat floats high.

63.時不我待 Time and tide wait for no man.

64.殺雞用牛刀 break a butterfly on the wheel

65.實事求是 seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts

66.說曹操,曹操到 Speak of the devil and he comes.

67.實話實說 speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is

68.實踐是檢驗真理的唯一標準 Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

69.山不在高，有仙則名 No matter how high the mountain is, its name will spread far and wide if there is a fairy;

70.韜光養晦 hide one's capacities and bide one's time

71.糖衣炮彈 sugar-coated bullets

72.天有不測風云 Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue

73.團結就是力量 Unity is strength.

74.跳進黃河洗不清 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

75.歪風邪氣 unhealthy practices and evil phenomena

76.物以類聚，人以群分 Birds of a feather flock together.

77.往事如風 The past has vanished (from memory) like wind; What in past, is past

78.望子成龍 hold high hopes for one's child

79.屋漏又逢連陰雨 Misfortunes never come singly. When it rains it pours.

80.文韜武略 military expertise; military strategy

81.唯利是圖 draw water to one's mill

82.無源之水,無本之木 water without a source, and a tree without roots

83.無中生有 make/create something out of nothing

84.無風不起浪 There are no waves without wind. There's no smoke without fire.

85.徇私枉法 bend the law for the benefit of relatives or friends

86.新官上任三把火 a new broom sweeps clean

87.虛心使人進步,驕傲使人落后 Modesty helps one go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind.

88.蓄勢而發 accumulate strength for a take-off

89.心想事成 May all your wish come true

90.心照不宣 have a tacit understanding; give tacit consent; tacit understanding

91.先入為主 First impressions are firmly entrenched.

92.先下手為強 catch the ball before the bound

93.像熱鍋上的螞蟻 like an ant on a hot pan

94.現身說法 warn people by taking oneself as an example

95.息事寧人 pour oil on troubled waters

96.喜憂參半 mingled hope and fear

97.循序漸進 step by step

98.一路平安，一路順風 wish you a safe / good trip / journey

99.嚴以律己,寬以待人 be strict with oneself and lenient towards others

101.有情人終成眷屬'Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well.

102.有錢能使鬼推磨 Money makes the mare go./ Money talks.

103.有識之士 people of vision

104.有勇無謀 use brawn rather than brain

105.有緣千里來相會 Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.

106.與時俱進 advance with times

107.以人為本 people oriented; people foremost

108.因材施教 teach students according to their aptitude

109.欲窮千里目，更上一層樓 to ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther; Would eye embrace a thousand miles? Go up, one flight.

110.欲速則不達 Haste does not bring success./More haste, less speed.

111. 優勝劣汰 survival of the fittest

112.英雄所見略同 Great minds think alike.

113.冤家宜解不宜結 Better make friends than make enemies.

114.冤假錯案 cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases

115.一言既出，駟馬難追 A real man never goes back on his words.

116.招財進寶 Money and treasures will be plentiful

117.債臺高筑 become debt-ridden

119.眾矢之的 target of public criticism

120.知己知彼,百戰不殆 Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.

121. 紙上談兵 be an armchair strategist

122.紙包不住火 Truth will come to light sooner or later.

123.左右為難 between the devil and the deep blue sea