jūn zǐ ài cái qǔ zhī yǒu dào

A virtuous man makes his fortune in a proper way; Acquire wealth in an upright and just way

jūn rǔ chén sǐ

If the king is disgraced, the king's servant must die.

出处: From Guoyu.

tīng jūn yī xí huà shèng dú shí nián shū

Listening to the words of a wise person is superior to ten years of studying.

出处: Attested in Zengguang Xianwen (增廣賢文) in a similar form.

mìng lǐ yǒu shí zhōng xū yǒu mìng lǐ wú shí mò qiǎng qiú

In life, some wishes eventually come true, but for wishes that do not, do not insist.

直译: When you have it in your life, you eventually have it. When you do not, do not insist [on having it]

出处: From Chapter 14 of Jin Ping Mei: : The proverb also appeared in Zengguang Xianwen (《增廣賢文》).

āi mò dà yú xīn sǐ

Despair is the greatest sorrow; Nothing gives greater cause for sorrow than despair; There is no grief so great as despair; There is no poverty like the poverty of spirit.

直译: Nothing is more lamentable than a dead heart.

出处: From Zhuangzi, chapter 21 (Tian Zifang)

zuǐ chán bī làng zǎo wǎn shàng dàng

one who cannot control their desire gets taken in sooner or later.

sì hǎi zhī nèi jiē xiōng dì

all men are brothers

出处: From the Analects, Book 12 (《論語·顏淵》)

sài wēng shī mǎ yān zhī fēi fú

Every cloud has a silver lining. / A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

直译: When the old man from the frontier lost his horse, how could one have known that it would not be fortuitous?

出处: From a tale in Huai Nan Zi

shì kě shā bù kě rǔ

A scholar would rather die than be humiliated.

duō xíng bù yì bì zì bì

The wages of sin is death; He who is unjust is doomed to destruction.

出处: From Zuo Zhuan. Duke Zhuang of Zheng had conferred a major city on his brother Gong Shu Duan (共叔段) on the request of their mother. One of his officers were concerned that Gong Shu Duan could become a threat. He gave the following reply (《左傳·隱公元年》)

dà yú chī xiǎo yú xiǎo yú chī xiā mi

The weak are the prey of the strong; big fish eat little fish

直译: The big fish eat the little fish, and the little fish eat small shrimps.

tiān xià wū yā yī bān hēi

bad people or things are similar everywhere

直译: crows in the world are all black

tiān xià wú bù sàn zhī yán xí

synonym of 天下沒有不散的宴席 /天下没有不散的宴席 (tiānxià méiyǒu bùsàn de yànxí)

tiān xià wú bù sàn de yán xí

synonym of 天下沒有不散的宴席 /天下没有不散的宴席 (tiānxià méiyǒu bùsàn de yànxí)

tiān xià méi yǒu bù sàn de yán xí

Parting of people is inevitable; (by extension) All good things come to an end; synonym of 天下沒有不散的宴席 /天下没有不散的宴席 (tiānxià méiyǒu bùsàn de yànxí)

直译: There is no such thing in the world as a never-ending banquet

tiān yá hé chù wú fāng cǎo

There is no need to be overly attached to one person or location, everything has something about it that is endearing.; there are plenty of fish in the sea

直译: Where in the world is there a lack of fragrant grass?

出处: From 《離騷》 in the Chu Ci: From “Butterflies Adore Flowers” (《蝶戀花》), by Su Shi

tiān wǎng huī huī shū ér bù lòu

lawbreakers will always be arrested and punished

直译: The law of nature is like a giant web, although sparsely meshed, nothing could slip through.

出处: From the 73ʳᵈ chapter of the Tao Te Ching

tiān xíng jiàn jūn zǐ yǐ zì qiáng bù xī

Just as the celestial bodies never run out of energy to orbit round and round, so should we always strive to better ourselves.

出处: From the I Ching (易經).

tài yáng guāng dà fù mǔ ēn dà jūn zǐ liàng dà xiǎo rén qì dà

the sun shines brightly, one's parents have a lot of kindness, a gentleman is magnanimous, while a small-minded person has a bad temper

shī zhī dōng yú shōu zhī sāng yú

to lose one thing but gain another

出处: Literally: What you lose in the morning, you gain back in the evening.

shī bài nǎi chéng gōng zhī mǔ

failure is the mother of success.

hǎo hàn jià bù zhù sān pāo xī

even a manly man cannot withstand three bouts of diarrhea

hǎo jiǔ chén wèng dǐ

The best is saved for last; It ain't over until the fat lady sings.

直译: The best wine is at the bottom of the jug.

jiāng shì lǎo de là

The older the person is, the more seasoned (wiser or more treacherous) they are.

直译: It's the older ginger that is the spicy one.

jiāng yuè lǎo yuè là

The older the person is, the more seasoned (wiser or more treacherous) they are.

直译: The older ginger becomes, the spicier it gets.

jiāng hái shì lǎo de là

The older the person is, the more seasoned (wiser or more treacherous) they are.

直译: It's the older ginger that is the spicy one.

xué yōu ér shì

synonym of 學而優則仕 /学而优则仕 (xué ér yōu zé shì)

xué rú nì shuǐ xíng zhōu bù jìn zé tuì

Learning is like making the boat go against the current; if you stop moving forward, you will go back.

xué ér yōu zé shì

The student, having completed his studies, should enter into government service.

出处: From the Analects, Book 19 (《論語·子張》)

nìng wéi tài píng quǎn bù zuò luàn shì rén

Better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos.

直译: better to be a dog in times of peace than a man in times of chaos.

出处: From Volume 3 of the 1627 short story collection by Feng Menglong, Stories to Awaken the World.

níng wèi tài píng quǎn, mò zuò luàn lí rén⚠ 拼音待校

synonym of 寧為太平犬，不做亂世人 /宁为太平犬，不做乱世人 (nìng wéi tàipíng quǎn, bù zuò luànshì rén)

直译: better to be a dog in times of peace than a man rendered desolate by war.

nìng wéi yù suì, bù wéi wǎ quán⚠ 拼音待校

Dying an honourable death is better than living a dishonourable life

直译: Rather be a broken piece of jade than be a tile in whole.

出处: From Book of Northern Qi (北齊書·元景安傳) first attested in c. 636 CE

níng wèi jī kǒu, bù wèi niú hòu⚠ 拼音待校

It is better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond.

直译: Better be the beak of a chicken (smaller but cleaner) than the arse of an ox (bigger but dirtier)

出处: Quoted from Su Qin's speech to King Xuanhui of Han, persuading him to unite with other states to fight against Qin

nìng mài zǔ zōng tián bù mài zǔ zōng yán

do not forget the Hakka language and one's roots

直译: rather sell the farmland of your ancestors, than sell (forget) their language

nìng mài zǔ zōng tián bù wàng zǔ zōng yán

do not forget the Hakka language and one's roots

直译: rather sell the farmland of your ancestors, than forget their language

nìng kě xìn qí yǒu bù kě xìn qí wú

It is better to believe something is real or true than to believe it is nonexistent or false.