- Stir
the grass and alert the snake.
(Chinese
original: 打草惊蛇Chinese Pinyin: Da3 cao3 jing1 che2.)
|
- An imprudent
act can alert the enemy before the right moment comes.
|
- Respect
out of fear is never genuine; reverence out of respect is never false.
(Chinese
original: 打怕的人是假的，敬怕的人是真的 Chinese Pinyin: Da3 pa4 de ren2 shi4 jia3
de; jing4 pa4 de ren2 shi4 zhen1 de.)
|
|
- Don't
hit one on the face.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Da3 ren2 bu4 da3 lian3.)
|
- Disclose
one's shortcomings in public would only antagonize him. Be diplomatic
or tactic and he may accept your criticism.
|
- Fish
a needle in the sea.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Da4 hai3 lao2 zhen1.)
|
- Probably
you have already thought of the English counterpart: looking for a "needle
in a haystack."
|
- Make
a decision when a decision is called for. Hesitation only brings disaster.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Dang1 duan4 bu2 duan4, fan3 shou4 qi2 luan4.)
|
|
- A
spectator sees more than a player in the heat of a game.
(Chinese
original: 当局者迷Chinese Pinyin: Dang1 ju2 zhe3 mi2.)
|
The
third party usually has a better perspective than those deeply involved
in a transaction. |
- Don't
mention the word "dwarf" in front of a short person.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Dang1 zhe ai3ren2 bie2 shuo1 ai3 hua4.)
|
- Mentioning
a person's shortcomings will hurt his feelings. One needs to be tactful
or diplomatic when communicating with others.
|
- Guard
against disgrace in times of favor; be prepared for danger in times
of safety.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: De2 chong3 si1 ru3, an1 ju1 si1 wei1.)
|
|
- Forget
the fishing gear as soon as the fish is caught.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: De2 yu2 wang4 quan2.)
(An annotation is available here.)
|
- Forget
the means by which the end is attained.
|
- Have
a mouth as sharp as a dagger but a heart as soft as tofu.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Dao1zi zui3 dou4fu xin1.)
|
- Extremely
difficulty and dangerous situation.
|
- A
mountain of knives and a sea of fire.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Dao1 shan1 huo3 hai3.)
|
- Extremely
difficulty and dangerous situation.
|
- Turn
iron (or stone) into gold by the touch.
(Chinese
original: 点铁成金 or 点石成金 Chinese Pinyin: Dian3 tie3 cheng2 jin1, or Dian3
shi2 cheng2 jin1.)
|
To
say one can turn iron into gold by the touch is to describe him as having
superb editing skills that can turn a mediocre work into a masterpiece. |
- Lure
a tiger out of its mountain.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Diao4 hu3 li2 shan1.)
|
- Lure
an enemy out of its well defended base to annihilate it. This is one
of Sunzi's thirty-six strategems in his Art of War.
|
- Dripping
water can eat through a stone.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Di1 shui3 chuan1 shi2.)
|
- Perseverance
will lead to success.
|
- A
girl apes her neighbor's frowning.
(Chinese
original:  Chinese Pinyin: Dong1shi1 xiao4 pin4.)
|
A beauty
is beautiful even when she was sick and frowned all day. A homely girl
in her neighborhood tried to ape her frowning thinking that she could
become pretty but instead made herself look uglier. |
- A
single tree makes no forest; one string makes no music.
(Chinese
original: 独木不成林，单弦不成音 Chinese Pinyin: Du2 mu4 bu4 cheng2 lin2, dan1
xian2 bu4 cheng2 yin1.)
|
- This
proverb illustrates the significance of team work
|
- Read
critically, and you will find each word worth a thousand ounces of gold.
(Chinese
original: 读书需用意，一字值千斤Chinese Pinyin: Du2 shu1 xu1 yong4 yi4, yi1
zi4 zhi2 qian1 jin1.)
|
|
- Play
a harp before a cow
(Chinese
original: 对牛弹琴Chinese Pinyin: Dui4 niu2 tan2 qin2.)
|
- Similar
to "Cast pearls to a swine."
|
- Prescribe
the right medicine for a symptom.
(Chinese
original: 对症下药Chinese Pinyin: Dui4 zheng4 xia4 yao4.)
|
- Take
the right measures to tackle a problem to achieve the best result.
|
