Category Archives: Chinese culture

不问青红皂白 Confound right and wrong. 【发音】bù wèn qīng hóng zào bái 【释义】比喻不分是非，不问情由。 Indiscriminately; not to distinguish black from white; not to inquire into the reason. 【例1】哪里有激烈的战争，他就立即冲向那里，不问青红皂白就砍杀起来。 Where the fight is fierce, there he rushes in without hesitation, without question as … Continue reading →

背包袱 Have a load on one’s mind. 【发音】bēng bāo fu 【释义】喻指有沉重的经济或思想负担。 Carry a constant, worrisome burden in economy or mind. 【例1】你不要因此背包袱。 Don’t let it weigh on your mind. 【例2】他希望去掉这个包袱。 He hoped to get rid of the burden

不买账 Not buy it. 【发音】bù mǎi zhàng 【释义】比喻不承认对方的长处或力量，不佩服或不服从。 Be unwilling to accept someone’s authority or advantage; not go for it. 【例1】对于官僚主义，群众是不买账的。 The masses won’t go for bureaucracy. 【例2】房子降价了，可消费者还是不买账。 Though the house price has fallen down, customers still won’t go for … Continue reading →

吃不了兜着走 Get more than one bargained for. 【发音】chī bù liǎo dōu zhe zǒu 【释义】比喻受不了或担当不起。 This phrase means that one would land himself in serious trouble if he enrages someone else. 【例1】这件事你如果说出去，我叫你吃不了兜着走。 If you let this leak out, I’ll make you … Continue reading →

吃力不讨好 A thankless task; do a hard but thankless job. 【发音】chī lì bù tǎo hǎo 【释义】费力而得不到好效果。 Work hard but get little result. 【例1】改卷子是吃力不讨好的任务。 Gǎi juàn zi shì chī lì bù táo hǎo de rèn wù. Grading papers is a thankless … Continue reading →

吃香 Be very popular. 【发音】chī xiāng 【释义】指受重视；到处受人欢迎。 Be welcome by a great amount of people everywhere. 【例1】现在中国到处需要英语教师，他们很吃香。 Now, in China, teachers of English are in good demand and have the best of it. 【例3】那位大臣当时在宫廷里很吃香。 The minister was in high favor … Continue reading →

长痛不如短痛 It is better to suffer short-term pain so that one will not have to suffer long-term pain. 【发音】cháng tòng bù rú duǎn tòng 【释义】长期痛苦还不如短期痛苦。指果断处事。 Suffering the acute pain for a short time is better than a mild pain for … Continue reading →