jiā wú dàn shí

to have very little food left; to have poverty-stricken

fù kě dí guó

rich as Croesus; extremely wealthy

直译: wealth rivals that of a country

fù jiǎ yī fāng

to be very rich

fù jiǎ tiān xià

to be the richest in the world

yù yì shēn yuǎn

having deep implications

yù jiào yú lè

to educate through entertainment; to provide edutainment

xún shì shēng fēi

to seek a quarrel; to make trouble

xún rén xún wù

to look for people and things

xún xīn qiú biàn

to seek novelty or innovation

xún gēn jiū dǐ

to get to the bottom of the matter; to make a thorough inquiry into something

xún huān zuò lè

to seek pleasure; to indulge in merrymaking

xún zhāng zhāi jù

to cull phrases but not meaning; to write in clichés without originality

出处: First attested in the Book of Wu, from Zhao Zi's response to Cao Pi's mocking question on whether Sun Quan is learned

jiāng gōng bǔ guò

💡 Гавьяагаар алдаагаа нөхөх.

xiǎo xīn jǐn shèn

careful

xiǎo niǎo yī rén

the appearance of a woman or a child who is dependant upon others, and is also dainty and cute

直译: (as cute and helpless as) a little bird that must rely on a human in order to survive

出处: Originally a gloss for the character 雀 (OC *ʔsewɢ) in the historical dictionary Shuowen (2nd century)

chǐ fú qiān lǐ

having great artistic skill; containing rich content despite being small in size

chǐ yǒu suǒ duǎn

everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses

jìn shàn jìn měi

perfect; flawless

直译: to exhaust what is good and beautiful; to be unsurpassed in goodness and beauty

出处: From the Analects, Book 3 (《論語·八佾》)

wěi dà bù diào

a subordinate becomes too powerful for their superior to control

出处: From Zuo Zhuan

jū xīn bù liáng

to harbor bad intentions; to be malicious

jū gāo lín xià

to occupy the high ground; to overlook; to be condescending; to be arrogant based on one's social position

直译: to live high and look down

shān yáo dì dòng

earthshaking

shān zhēn hǎi wèi

💡 Уул, далайн ховор амттан; тансаг зоог.

shān zhēn hǎi cuò

exotic delicacies; (by extension) abundant food

shān qióng shuǐ jìn

having no more options; being at the end of one's rope; extremely desperate and hopeless

直译: the mountains run bare, and the streams run dry

zuǒ chuān yòu chā

to weave in and out of something (e.g. traffic)

qiǎo lì míng mù

to concoct various pretexts; to invent all sorts of names

qiǎo yán lìng sè

with flourishing words and friendly countenance; with insincere courtesy

出处: Attested in the Book of Documents (《尚書·皐陶謨》): : Also attested in the Analects, Book 1 (《論語·學而》)

jù dà wú bǐ

incomparably enormous

jù xì wú yí

to include both large and small matters; to omit neither large or small matters

bù yī shū shí

a thrifty and simple life

直译: coarse clothes and vegetarian food

xí dì ér zuò

to sit on the ground

mù tiān xí dì

to be in the outdoors; to be open-minded and carefree

直译: to use the sky as a tent and the land as a sleeping mat

nián nián yǒu yú

💡 Жил бүр элбэг, илүүдэлтэй байх — шинэ жилийн ерөөл.

chuáng shàng shī chuáng

synonym of 床上安床 (chuángshàng'ānchuáng, “needless duplication; repetitious”)

zuò wú xū xí

💡 Нэг ч хоосон суудалгүй, дүүрэн.

直译: to have no empty seats

kāi juàn yǒu yì

reading is beneficial

kāi yuán jié liú

to increase income and reduce spending

直译: to open a source and restrict the flow

出处: From Xunzi

kāi chéng bù gōng

to wear one's heart on one's sleeve; to be frank and sincere