汉语译英语

1

爱财如命

lovemoneyasonelovesone'slife/lovemoneyasmuchaslifeitlf.

爱理不理lookcoldandindifferent

爱莫能助willingtohelpbutunabletodoso

爱屋及乌loveforapersonextendventothecrowsonhisroof/loveme,lovemy

dog.

爱憎分明understandwhattoloveandwhattohate/knowwhomtoloveandwhom

tohate.

安步当车strolloverinsteadofridinginacarriage/walkratherthanride.

安分守已abidebythelawandbehaveonelf/knowone'splace

安居乐业liveandworkinpeaceandcontentment

安民告示anoticetoreassurethepublic

安贫乐道becontentwithpoverty,caringonlyforone'sprinciplesortheway

安然无恙safeandsound/(escape)unscathed

安如泰山assolidasMountTai/asfirm(solid)asarock

安营扎寨pitchacamp/camp

按兵不动holdone'stroopswheretheyare—takenoaction;bideone'stime.

按部就班followtheprescribedorder/keeptoconventionalwaysofdoingthings.

按图索骥lookforasteedwiththeaidofitspicture—trytofindsomethingby

followingupaclue

按下葫芦浮起瓢hardlyhasonegourdbeenpushedunderwaterwhenanotherbobs

up--solveoneproblemonlytofindanothercroppingup

暗箭伤人ack/rhandmeans

暗送秋波makeeyesatsb./deyes/makecretoverturestosb.

黯然神伤feeldejected/depresd

黯然失色becastintotheshade/beovershadowed/beeclipd/paleinto

insignificance

黯然销魂sorrowatparting

昂首阔步stridealongwithone'schinup/strideproudlyahead

昂首望天holdone'sheadhighandgazeatthesky

嗷嗷待哺crypiteouslyforfood

八面玲珑besmoothandslick(inestablishingsocialrelations)

八面威风anauraofawesomemight/acommandingprence

八仙过海，各显神通

liketheEightImmortalscrossingthea,eachoneshowinghisorherspecialprowess.

八字还没一撇儿

there'snoteventhefirststokeofthecharacter/there'snottheslightestsignofsuccess

yet

拔苗助长

trytohelptheshootsgrowbypullingthemupward—spoilthingsbyexcessive

enthusiasm

常用汉语成语英译

2

爱屋及乌Loveme,lovemydog.

百闻不如一见Seeingisbelieving.

比上不足，比下有余"woroffthansome,betteroffthanmany;tofallshortofthe

best,butbebetterthantheworst

笨鸟先飞Aslowsparrowshouldmakeanearlystart.

不眠之夜whitenight

不以物喜，不以己悲notpleadbyexternalgains,notsaddenedbypersonalloss

不遗余力sparenoeffort;goallout;doone'sbest

不打不成交"Nodiscord,noconcord.

拆东墙补西墙robPetertopayPaul

辞旧迎新bidfarewelltotheoldandusherinthenew;ringouttheoldyearand

ringinthenew

大事化小，小事化了tryfirsttomaketheirmistakesoundlessriousandthen

toreduceittonothingatall

大开眼界openone'yes;broadenone'shorizon;beaneye-opener

国泰民安Thecountryflourishesandpeopleliveinpeace

过犹不及goingtoofarisasbadasnotgoingfarenough;beyondisaswrongas

fallingshort;toomuchisasbadastoolittle

功夫不负有心人Everythingcomestohimwhowaits.

好了伤疤忘了疼onceonshore,onepraysnomore

好事不出门，恶事传千里Goodnewsnevergoesbeyondthegate,whilebad

newsspreadfarandwide.

和气生财Harmonybringswealth

活到老，学到老Oneisnevertoooldtolearn.

既往不咎letbygonesbebygones

3

金无足赤,人无完人Goldcan'tbepureandmancan'tbeperfect.

金玉满堂Treasuresfillthehome

脚踏实地bedown-to-earth

脚踩两只船sitonthefence;Ifyoucatchtwohares,youcancatchneither.

君子之交淡如水thefriendshipbetweengentlemenisaspureascrystal;ahedge

betweenkeepsfriendshipgreen

老生常谈，陈词滥调cutanddried,cliché

礼尚往来Courtesycallsforreciprocity.

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧"Wherethereislife,thereishope."

马到成功achieveimmediatevictory;wininstantsuccess

名利双收gaininbothfameandwealth

茅塞顿开besuddenlyenlightened

没有规矩不成方圆Nothingcanbeaccomplishedwithoutnormsorstandards.

每逢佳节倍思亲

Onfestiveoccasionsmorethaneveronethinksofone'sdearonesfaraway.

Itisonthefestivaloccasionswhenonemisshisdearmost.

谋事在人，成事在天"Theplanninglieswithman,theoutcomewithHeaven./

Manpropos,Goddispos."

弄巧成拙betoosmartbyhalf;Cunningoutwitsitlf.

拿手好戏masterpiece

赔了夫人又折兵throwgoodmoneyafterbad

抛砖引玉amodestspurtoinduceotherstocomeforwardwithvaluable

contributions;throwasprattocatchawhale

4

破釜沉舟cutoffallmeansofretreat；burnone‘sownwayofretreatandbe

determinedtofighttotheend

抢得先机takethepreemptiveopportunities

巧妇难为无米之炊Ifyouhavenohandyoucan'tmakeafist./Onecan'tmake

brickswithoutstraw.

千里之行始于足下athousand-lijourneybeginswiththefirststep--thehighest

eminenceistobegainedstepbystep

前事不忘,后事之师Pastexperience,ifnotforgotten,isaguideforthefuture.

前人栽树,后人乘凉Onegenerationplantsthetreesinwhoshadeanother

generationrests.

Onesowsandanotherreaps.

前怕狼,后怕虎fearthewolfinfrontandthetigerbehind/hesitateindoing

something

强龙难压地头蛇Evenadragon(fromtheoutside)findsithardtocontrola

snakeinitsoldhaunt-Powerfuloutsiderscanhardlyaffordtoneglectlocalbullies.

强强联手win-winco-operation

瑞雪兆丰年Atimelysnowpromisagoodharvest.

人之初,性本善Man'snatureatbirthisgood.

人逢喜事精神爽Joyputsheartintoaman.

人海战术huge-crowdstrategy

世上无难事，只要肯攀登"Wherethereisawill,thereisaway."

世外桃源afictitiouslandofpeaceawayfromtheturmoiloftheworld;

死而后已untilmyheartstopsbeating

岁岁平安Peaceallyearround

上有天堂，下有苏杭"Justasthereisparadiinheaven,therareSuzhouand

Hangzhouonearth."

5

塞翁失马，焉知非福Misfortunemaybeanactualblessing.

三十而立"Amanshouldbeindependentattheageofthirty.

Atthirty,amanshouldbeabletothinkforhimlf."

升级换代updatingandupgrading(ofproducts)

四十不惑Lifebeginsatforty.

谁言寸草心，报得三春晖"Suchkindnessofwarmsun,can'tberepaidbygrass.

"

水涨船高Whentheriverris,theboatfloatshigh.

时不我待Timeandtidewaitfornoman.

杀鸡用牛刀breakabutterflyonthewheel

实事求是ektruthfromfacts;bepracticalandrealistic;betruetofacts

说曹操,曹操到Talkofthedevilandhecomes.

实话实说speaktheplaintruth;callaspadeaspade;tellitasitis

实践是检验真理的唯一标准Practiceisthesolecriterionfortestingtruth.

山不在高，有仙则名"Nomatterhowhighthemountainis,itsnamewillspread

farandwideifthereisafairy;"

韬光养晦hideone'scapacitiesandbideone'stime

糖衣炮弹sugar-coatedbullets

天有不测风云romtheblue

团结就是力量Unityisstrength.

“跳进黄河洗不清”"evenifonejumpedintotheYellowRiver,onecannotwash

onelfclean--there'snothingonecandotoclearone'sname"

歪风邪气unhealthypracticesandevilphenomena

6

物以类聚，人以群分Birdsofafeatherflocktogether.

往事如风"Thepasthasvanished(frommemory)likewind.;Whatinpast,is

past."

望子成龙holdhighhopesforone'schild

屋漏又逢连阴雨rainsitpours.

文韬武略militaryexperti;militarystrategy

唯利是图drawwatertoone'smill

无源之水,无本之木waterwithoutasource,andatreewiithoutroots

无中生有make/createsomethingoutofnothing

无风不起浪'snosmokewithoutfire.

徇私枉法bendthelawforthebenefitofrelativesorfriends

新官上任三把火anewbroomsweepsclean

虚心使人进步,骄傲使人落后Modestyhelpsonegoforward,whereasconceit

makesonelagbehind.

蓄势而发accumulatestrengthforatake-off

心想事成Mayallyourwishcometrue

心照不宣haveatacitunderstanding;givetacitconnt;tacitunderstanding

先入为主Firstimpressionsarefirmlyentrenched.

先下手为强catchtheballbeforethebound

像热锅上的蚂蚁likeanantonahotpan

现身说法warnpeoplebytakingonelfasanexample

息事宁人pouroilontroubledwaters

喜忧参半mingledhopeandfear

循序渐进stepbystep

一路平安，一路顺风speedsomebodyontheirway;speedthepartingguest

严以律己,宽以待人bestrictwithonelfandlenienttowardsothers

7

鱼米之乡alandofmilkandhoney

有情人终成眷属"JackshallhaveJill,allshallbewell."

有钱能使鬼推磨alks.

有识之士peopleofvision

有勇无谋ubrawnratherthanbrain

有缘千里来相会Separatedaswearethousandsofmilesapart,wecome

togetherasifbypredestination.

与时俱进advancewithtimes

以人为本peopleoriented;peopleforemost

因材施教teachstudentsaccordingtotheiraptitude

欲穷千里目，更上一层楼"toascendanotherstoreytoeathousandmiles

further;Ascendfurther,wereyoutolookfarther;Wouldeyeembraceathousand

miles?Goup,oneflight."

欲速则不达Hastedoesnotbringsuccess.

优胜劣汰survivalofthefittest

英雄所见略同Greatmindsthinkalike.

冤家宜解不宜结Bettermakefriendsthanmakeenemies.

冤假错案"casinwhichpeoplewereunjustly,fallyorwronglychargedor

ntenced;unjust,falorwrongcas"

一言既出，驷马难追Arealmannevergoesbackonhiswords.

招财进宝Moneyandtreasureswillbeplentiful

债台高筑becomedebt-ridden

致命要害Achilles'heel

众矢之的targetofpubliccriticism

8

知己知彼,百战不殆Knowtheenemyandknowyourlf,andyoucanfighta

hundredbattleswithnodangerofdefeat.

纸上谈兵beanarmchairstrategist

纸包不住火Truthwillcometolightsoonerorlater.

左右为难betweenthedevilandthedeepbluea;betweentherockandthehard

place

常见中文俗语谚语英译技巧

1.人山人海：在诗词用语（poeticexpression）里，英美人也有使用：“a(the)

aoffaces”，颇有咱的“人山人海”的味道。例如：Lookingoutuponthea

offaces,eredatouchingspeech.（望着一片人山人海的听众，A

先生发表一篇动人的演说。）Standingathispodium,PresidentClintonsaw

aaoffaceswavingathim.（克林顿总统站在讲台上看到人山人海的人群

挥手向他致意。）。可见，说话者通常要在台上或高处，才有“人海”的

感觉。因此，可以说：“Isawaaoffacesfromthetopofthebuilding.”

但在平地的人群中，就不说：“Isawtheaoffaces.”也不说：“Thereisa

aoffaces.”只说：“Isawalargecrowdofpeople.”

2、家家有本难念的经：有人译成：“Everyfamilycooking-pothasa

blackspot.”（意思是：每个家庭的锅子都有黑色的污点。）这样说法，

英美人恐怕不能充分了解。不过英美人最常见的说法是：“Manyfamilies

haveskeletonsintheclot.（许多家庭的衣柜里都有骨骸，骨骸就是指家

丑。）”；或者说：“Everyfamilyhasitsownsourceofshame.（每个家庭

都有自己的丑事）”；说白些，就是：“Everyfamilyhasitsownproblem.”

3、天下无不散的宴席：有人直译为：“Therearenofeastsintheworld

whichdonotbreakupatlast.”英美人听后，也许很难体会其中意义。如

果按照美语说法，也许更易理解：“Allgoodthingscometoanend.（意思

是：所有好的事情，总有结束的一天。）”；假如是指好友最后也有分别

的一天，那么可以说：“Eventually,allbosomfriendswilldriftapart.（bosom

friend是指知心的好友）”

4、平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚：有人照字面意思直译为：“Whentimes

areeasy,wedonotburntheincen,butwhenthetroublecomes,we

embracethefeetoftheBuddha.”这种说法，英美人也会一知半解。美语里

一般说法是：“WorshipGodeveryday;notjustintimesofadversity.（要每

天敬拜神，不是只在困难时。）”；对学生也可以说：“Ifyoustudyhardevery

day,examswillnotemoverwhelming.（如果你每天用功，考试就不会形

9

成压力。）”

5、挂羊头，卖狗肉：有人照字直译为：“Headvertismutton,butlls

dog’sflesh.”或“Hehangsupasheep’sheadattheshopfrontandllsdog

meat.”这两种译法，恐怕英美人都难理解，尤其谈到“狗肉”，他们更会反

感，因为狗是他们最爱的宠物，不过英美人倒有相近的说法：“Heapplied

bait-and-switchtacticsinbusiness.（他经商的策略是先顾客来，再改

变货物的品质。）”，“Bait-and-switch”当名词用，也可不用连字号“Thisstore

usbaitandswitchpolicy.”或者简单的说：“Letthebuyerbeaware!（让

消费者提高警觉）”或“Sayonethinganddoanother.”

6、一言既出，驷马难追：有人译成：“Onewordletsslipandfourhors

willfailtocatchit.或Astatementthatonceletloocannotbecaughtby

fourgallopinghors.”这两种说法，中文味道嫌重，英美人未必理解。不

过他们倒有类似的说法：“Awordonceletgocannotberecalled.”或者说：

“Youcannottakebackwhatyouhavesaid.（你说出的话，就不能再收回

来。）”

7、祸从口出，言多必失：有人译为：“Themouthisthegateof

misfortuneandevil.”英美人听了，恐怕不能完全理解。最好说成：“Careless

talkleadstotrouble.（不小心说话，会带来麻烦）或“Thelesssaidthebetter.

（说的愈少愈好）”甚至也可以说：“Shutthemouthandopentheeyes.（闭

嘴少说，张眼多看。）”