Dec 9, 2023

25 words

WordPinyinDefinition
不显山不露水bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐlit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
事与愿违shì yǔ yuàn wéithings turn out contrary to the way one wishes (idiom)
拆东墙补西墙chāi dōng qiáng bǔ xī qiánglit. pull down the east wall to repair the west wall (idiom); fig. temporary expedient
收割shōu gēto harvest
杯水车薪bēi shuǐ chē xīnlit. a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood (idiom)
淋漓尽致lín lí jìn zhìlit. extreme saturation (idiom)
热锅上的蚂蚁rè guō shang de mǎ yǐ(like) a cat on a hot tin roof
积重难返jī zhòng nán fǎningrained habits are hard to overcome (idiom); bad old practices die hard
窟窿kū longhole
翻云覆雨fān yún fù yǔto produce clouds with one turn of the hand and rain with another (idiom)
贪欲tān yùgreed
雪上加霜xuě shàng jiā shuāngto add hail to snow (idiom); one disaster on top of another
领头羊lǐng tóu yángbellwether
风口浪尖fēng kǒu làng jiānwhere the wind and the waves are the fiercest
风波fēng bōdisturbance
庞杂páng záenormously complex
大手笔dà shǒu bǐgenerously
资不抵债zī bú dǐ zhàione's assets are insufficient to cover his debts
攻城略地gōng chéng lüè dìto take cities and seize territories (idiom)
踩雷cǎi léimake a critical mistake
天下没有免费的午餐tiān xià méi yǒu bái chī de wǔ cānthere's no such thing as a free lunch
借新还旧jiè xīn hái jiùrolling over debt
系族xì zúfamily-owned enterprise or group
山雨欲来风满楼shān yǔ yù lái fēng mǎn lóusigns of an impending crisis
人走茶凉rén zǒu chá liángthe superficiality of human relationships