Pinyin
Simplified Chinese
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English
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Traditional Chinese
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qīqī
七七字
| seven sevens (equals 49); cf Buddhist services for the auspicious reincarnation of the departed; | 七七字 |
sāngùmáolú
三顾茅庐字
| lit. three humble visits to a thatched cottage; cf famous episode in the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义 in which Liu Bei 劉備|刘备 recruits Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮|诸葛亮 (the Hidden Dragon 臥龍|卧龙) to his cause by visiting him three times; | 三顧茅廬字 |
wǔwēnshén
五瘟神字
| five chief demons of folklore personifying pestilence; cf four horsemen of the apocalypse; | 五瘟神字 |
réntóushéshēn
人头蛇身字
| human head, snake's body; cf Nüwa 女娲氏 and Fuxi 伏羲氏 in some versions of mythology; | 人頭蛇身字 |
jiāréncáizǐ
佳人才子字
| beautiful lady, gifted scholar (idiom); pair of ideal lovers; cf With his brains and her looks...; | 佳人才子字 |
chūyuèzi
出月子字
| to complete the month of confinement following childbirth; cf 坐月子[zuo4 yue4 zi4]; | 出月子字 |
lìngjiàn
另见字
| cf; see also; | 另見字 |
zhǐyàogōngfushēn,tiěchǔmóchéngzhēn
只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针字
| If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.; cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task; to study diligently; | 只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針字 |
míngbuzhèngyánbushùn
名不正言不顺字
| unjustified and undeserving of such description; identity or status is unverified, or inconsistent in detail; unworthy of the title (or name), or reputation; no valid reason as justification; words without weight; cf 名正言順|名正言顺; | 名不正言不順字 |
Wúshìchuīxiāo
吴市吹箫字
| to beg while playing the xiao 箫 (mouth organ); cf Wu Zixu 伍子胥, destitute refugee from Chu 楚, busked in Wu town c. 520 BC, then became a powerful politician; | 吳市吹簫字 |
chuīxiāoqǐshí
吹箫乞食字
| to beg while playing the xiao 箫 (mouth organ); cf Wu Zixu 伍子胥, destitute refugee from Chu 楚, busked in Wu town c. 520 BC, then became a powerful politician; | 吹簫乞食字 |
ZhōuYúdǎHuángGài
周瑜打黄盖字
| fig. with the connivance of both sides; fig. by mutual consent; cf Wu patriot Huang Gai submits to mock beating at the hands of General Zhou Yu to deceive Cao Cao 曹操 before the 208 battle of Redcliff 赤壁之戰|赤壁之战[Chi4 bi4 zhi1 zhan4]; | 週瑜打黃蓋字 |
shīdàoguǎzhù
失道寡助字
| an unjust cause finds little support (idiom, from Mencius); cf 得道多助[de2 dao4 duo1 zhu4] a just cause attracts much support; | 失道寡助字 |
níngjìngzhìyuǎn
宁静致远字
| tranquility yields transcendence (idiom); quiet life of profound study; cf Still waters run deep.; | 寧靜致遠字 |
zuǒqīngjīhuìzhǔyì
左倾机会主义字
| leftist opportunism (blamed for failures of Chinese communists from 1927); left adventurism; cf Mao's purges following 1935 Zunyi conference 遵義會議|遵义会议[Zun1 yi4 hui4 yi4]; | 左傾機會主義字 |
gēngzǐ
庚子字
| thirty seventh year G1 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 1960 or 2020; cf 庚子國變|庚子国变, the crisis year of 1900 involving the Boxer uprising and the eight nation military invasion; | 庚子字 |
huànnànzhījiāocáishìzhēnzhèngdepéngyou
患难之交才是真正的朋友字
| a friend in need is a friend indeed (English proverb); cf idiom 患難之交|患难之交, a friend in need; | 患難之交才是真正的朋友字 |
cáizǐjiārén
才子佳人字
| gifted scholar, beautiful lady (idiom); pair of ideal lovers; cf With his brains and her looks...; | 才子佳人字 |
zhěngfēng
整风字
| Rectification or Rectifying incorrect work styles, Maoist slogan; cf Rectification campaign 整風運動|整风运动, army purge of 1942-44 and anti-rightist purge of 1957; | 整風字 |
zhěngfēngyùndòng
整风运动字
| Rectification campaign; political purge; cf Mao's 1942-44 campaign at Yanan, and his 1950 and 1957 anti-rightist purges; | 整風運動字 |
chénhūndìngxǐng
晨昏定省字
| morning and evening visits to parents; cf 昏定晨省[hun1 ding4 chen2 xing3]; | 晨昏定省字 |
bēijiǔshìbīngquán
杯酒释兵权字
| to dismiss military hierarchy using wine cups; cf Song founding Emperor Song Taizu 宋太祖 holds a banquet in 961 and persuades his senior army commanders to go home to their provinces; | 杯酒釋兵權字 |
zhěnkuài
枕块字
| pillow of clay (used by filial son during Confucian mourning period); cf bed of straw and pillow of clay 寢苫枕塊|寝苫枕块[qin3 shan1 zhen3 kuai4]; | 枕塊字 |
měiyīgèréndōuyǒuměizhōngbùzúdedìfang
每一个人都有美中不足的地方字
| However excellent, everyone has his defects.; There is always a fly in the ointment.; cf idiom 美中不足[mei3 zhong1 bu4 zu2], everything is fine except for one small defect; | 每一個人都有美中不足的地方字 |
Jiānghú
江湖字
| rivers and lakes; around the whole country; cf 两江 and 两湖, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan provinces in Qing times; vagrant; itinerant (esp. entertainer, swindler, quack doctor etc); | 江湖字 |
jiǎwǔ
甲午字
| thirty first year A7 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 1954 or 2014; cf 甲午戰爭|甲午战争, the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95; | 甲午字 |
shéntàn
神探字
| master sleuth; lit. miraculous detective; cf Sherlock Holmes 福爾摩斯|福尔摩斯[Fu2 er3 mo2 si1] or Di Renjie 狄仁傑|狄仁杰[Di2 Ren2 jie2]; | 神探字 |
kōng
箜字
| ancient harp; cf 箜篌, Chinese harp; | 箜字 |
zhǐshàngtánbīng
纸上谈兵字
| lit. military tactics on paper (idiom); fig. theoretical discussion that is worse than useless in practice; armchair strategist; idle theorizing; cf Zhao Kuo 趙括|赵括 leading an army of 400,000 to total annihilation at battle of Changping 長平之戰|长平之战 in 260 BC; | 紙上談兵字 |
zhōngzhàn
终战字
| end of war; armistice; cf Japanese surrender in WWII on 15th August 1945; | 終戰字 |
zhōngzhànrì
终战日字
| armistice day; cf Japan's surrender in WWII on 15th August 1945; | 終戰日字 |
luójué
罗掘字
| to scrape around for money; hard pressed for cash; cf 羅雀掘鼠|罗雀掘鼠 to net birds and dig for rats (idiom); | 羅掘字 |
chuándàoqiáotóuzìránzhí
船到桥头自然直字
| When the boat gets to the pier-head, it will go straight with the current (俗话 common saying). fig. Everything will be all right.; cf couplet 車到山前必有路,船到橋頭自然直|车到山前必有路,船到桥头自然直; | 船到橋頭自然直字 |
zhīyǔ
芝宇字
| your appearance (honorific); cf 紫芝眉宇; | 芝宇字 |
huāzhāoyuèxī
花朝月夕字
| a beautiful day; cf Birthday of the Flowers on lunar 15th February and Mid-autumn Festival on lunar 15th August; | 花朝月夕字 |
jiěfàngrì
解放日字
| Liberation Day; cf Japan's surrender on 15th August 1945, celebrated as Liberation Day in Korea; | 解放日字 |
chēdàoshānqiánbìyǒulù
车到山前必有路字
| When we get to the mountain, there'll be a way through (俗话 common saying). fig. Everything will turn out for the best.; Let's worry about it when it happens.; It will be all right on the night.; cf couplet 車到山前必有路,船到橋頭自然直|车到山前必有路,船到桥头自然直; | 車到山前必有路字 |
chēdàoshānqiánzìyǒulù
车到山前自有路字
| When we get to the mountain, there'll be a way through (俗话 common saying). fig. Everything will turn out for the best.; Let's worry about it when it happens.; It will be all right on the night.; cf couplet 車到山前必有路,船到橋頭自然直|车到山前必有路,船到桥头自然直; | 車到山前自有路字 |
xīnchǒu
辛丑字
| thirty eighth year H2 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 1961 or 2021; cf 辛丑條約|辛丑条约, Protocol of Beijing of 1901 ending the 8-nation intervention after the Boxer uprising; | 辛醜字 |
xīnhài
辛亥字
| forty eighth year H12 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 1971 or 2031; cf 辛亥革命, Xinhai revolution of 1911; | 辛亥字 |
zàozì
造字字
| to create Chinese characters; cf Six Methods of forming Chinese characters 六書|六书[liu4 shu1]; | 造字字 |
