xiū huā bì yuè

extremely beautiful; drop dead gorgeous

出处: Refers to two of the Four Beauties of Chinese legends, Yang Guifei (whose appearance made flowers hide away in shame) and Diao Chan (whose appearance had the same effect on the moon).

qún lóng wú shǒu

to lack a leader

出处: From I Ching, Hexagram 1 (《易经·乾卦》): : This term has been reinterpreted by taking 首 (shǒu) as "leader".

lǎo mǎ shí tú

an experienced worker knows what to do; an old hand knows the ropes

直译: an old horse knows the way

出处: From a story in Han Feizi, Chapter 22 (《韓非子·說林上》)

ér lì zhī nián

thirty years old

出处: From the Analects, Book 2 (《論語·爲政》)

bèi shuǐ yī zhàn

to be forced to stand and fight; to make a desperate last stand

直译: fight with one's back to the river

出处: From the Records of the Grand Historian 背水陣／背水阵 (bèishuǐzhèn) (originally 背水陳, literally "arrange the battle array with soldiers' back to the river", 陳／陈 (chén) is an ancient variant of 陣／阵 (zhèn)).

zì yú zì lè

💡 Өөрөө өөрийгөө зугаацуулах, ганцаараа хөгжилдөх.

出处: 娛樂／娱乐 (yúlè, “to entertain”) augmented with 自 (zì, “self”).

zì bào zì qì

💡 Өөрийгөө орхиж, бууж өгч, сайжрахаа больсон.

出处: From Mencius (《孟子·離婁上》)

shě wǒ qí shuí

to dare to undertake a responsibility

直译: who, other than me?

出处: From Mencius (《孟子·公孫丑下》)

shě shēng qǔ yì

to die to achieve virtue; to die for a just cause

直译: to sacrifice life for righteousness

出处: From Mencius (《孟子·告子上》)

liáng yào kǔ kǒu

good advice may be uncomfortable to hear

直译: good medicine tastes bitter

出处: The analogy is found in Hanfeizi: : The same analogy is also found in Shiji and Shuoyuan.

xíng jiāng jiù mù

to be close to death; to approach death

直译: to enter the coffin soon

xíng yǒu yú lì

to have time and energy remaining after doing something

出处: From the Analects, Book 1 (《論語·學而》)

yán bù jí yì

to never talk about anything serious; to talk frivolously

出处: From the Analects, Book 15 (《論語·衞靈公》)

shuō gǔ dào jīn

💡 Эртний, одоогийн бүхнийг ярих — юм бүхний тухай ярих.

出处: From General Yue Fei [circa 17th–18th c.].

chē zài dǒu liáng

ubiquitous and numerous

直译: enough to fill carts and be measured by the bushel

出处: From the Book of Wu, quoted by Pei Songzhi in his annotations to The Records of the Three Kingdoms (《三國志·吳書·孫權傳》)

guò yóu bù jí

💡 Хэтрэх нь дутахтай адил — хэмжээ хэрэгтэй.

出处: From the Analects, Book 11 (《論語·先進》)

shù ér bù zuò

to refrain from unwarranted innovations; to resist the temptation to speculate

出处: From the Analects, Book 7 (《論語·述而》): : The identity of 老彭 was unclear. According to the Elder Dai's Book of Rites (《大戴禮記》), a wise nobleman of the Shang-era bore that appellation.

tuì bì sān shè

to give way to avoid a conflict in the face of superior strength (to avoid heavy losses)

直译: to retreat ninety li

出处: From the account of Duke Wen of Jin, who, prior to becoming the ruler of Jin, had fled from a succession crisis and had been seeking shelter in various states. After receiving him, King Cheng of Chu asked how he would pay back if he were to become the ruler of Jin. His reply was (《左傳·僖公二十三年》)

yí chòu wàn nián

to go down in history as a byword of infamy; to leave a herostratic fame.

直译: to leave a stink for ten thousand years

出处: From A New Account of the Tales of the World: : In Literary Chinese, 載／载 (zǎi) means the same here as 年 (nián).

jiǔ chí ròu lín

debauched activities; excessive extravagance

直译: pool of wine and forest of meat

出处: Most famously, referring to the recreational facility built by King Zhou of Shang: : Alternatively, from the same book (Shiji), describing the abundance of wine and meat and the wealthiness during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han

jīn yù mǎn táng

extremely rich

直译: to have a house filled with gold and jade

出处: From Tao Te Ching

jīn kē yù lǜ

a law, discipline, norm or regulation that is considered absolute and not allowed to be disputed or challenged

cháng zhì jiǔ ān

long-term peace and stability; prolonged political stability

出处: From a memorial to Emperor Wen of Han by Jia Yi, recorded in The Book of Han

yīn qíng yuán quē

dim, bright, full or crescent; the various shapes of the Moon; (figurative) unpredictability of life; vicissitudes of life

出处: From Su Shi's Shuidiao Getou.

zhèn jí

short for 地震震級／地震震级 (dìzhèn zhènjí, “earthquake magnitude”)

yǐn shuǐ sī yuán

💡 Ус уухдаа эх булгаа сана — ач тусыг бүү март.

直译: drink water, consider the source

出处: From "Tune in the Key of Zhǐ" (徵調曲) written by Yu Xin (庾信) during the Northern and Southern dynasties: : i.e. remember where and how the fruit/water came from. Don’t just be thankful for the fruit/water. The idiom makes use of the latter half: be thankful for all the elements and processes (both past and present) that allowed you to enjoy that humble cup of water.

shǒu dāng qí chōng

to be the first to suffer (attack or disaster); taking the lead; first; more important, crucial or prominent

出处: Formed based on a line in the Book of Han: First attested in the Draft History of Qing

jià qīng jiù shú

to perform a task with which one is very familiar with great ease; (to deem a task) a piece of cake; (to go for) a hay ride

直译: to drive a light carriage on a familiar route

出处: First attested in 810 CE, in Han Yu's prose

jī tóng yā jiǎng

mutually unintelligible; unable to understand one another; to talk past each other; getting one's wires crossed

直译: a chicken talking to a duck

出处: Originally Cantonese.