英语成语故事_英语成语故事带翻译_沪江英语
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成语翻译集锦
《成语集锦》说明这些成语是国际关系学院英语系 2005 级 01、02、03 三个班全体同学收集而来的，资 料来源有网络、报纸、期刊、书籍等。其中，卢冰同学找到一个较为完整的成语翻译集子， 内容比较全面，我们这里予以充分吸收。但出处未知，望版权持有人原谅。 本集锦的最后成形应该感谢 0501 班全体同学的辛勤劳动，是他们经过长时间耐心细致 的工作将这些零散的成语按字母顺序整理出来的。 最后的附录是我本科时写的一篇小文， 编排和整理方法古旧， 但所有例子都是我通过阅 读经典译文一个个找到的，与成语翻译词典的译文可能会有很大不同，似稍有参考价值。而 这个不同，正是我们整理这个集锦的初衷。我们以为，翻译是灵活的，任何两种语言之间没 有任何两个词语是可以无条件地等同和互相替换的， 所谓汉英词典与英汉词典都是我们这样 的人翻译、整理出来，可以参考，但不足取，更不可盲目以之为标准。没有这个意识，语言 就没有学到家， 对语言的本质也就理解得不到家。 窃以为这是值得各位同学以及当今外语以 及外语翻译学习者深思体会的一个问题。 希望这个集锦对大家的学习有所启发。 感谢各位同学的辛勤劳动和热情支持。 王元化在为《顾准文集》作序的时候曾引述过王安石的一首小诗，此时读来颇有感慨， 暂录于此，祈与往来读者共勉之： 沉魄浮魂不可招，遗篇一读想风标。 不妨举世嫌迂阔，故有斯人慰寂寥。王文华 匆匆草于北京坡上村 2008 年 5 月 31 日成语集锦 A阿猫阿狗 Tom, Dick or Harry 爱财如命 love money as much as life itself 爱屋及乌 Love me, love my dog. 安步当车 stroll over instead of riding in a carriage walk rather than ride. 安如泰山 as solid as Mount Tai as firm(solid)as a rock 黯然失色 paled 暗送秋波 make secret overtures to sb. &make eyes at sb. give sb. the glad eyes make secret overtures to sb.1成语集锦 B八面玲珑 be smooth and slick 拔苗助长 spoil things by excessive enthusiasm 白璧无瑕 impeccable moral integrity 白费口舌 waste one's words 白手起家 build up from nothing 白头偕老 live to old age in conjugal bliss 白纸黑字 black and white 百步穿杨 shoot with great precision 百尺竿头更进一步 make still further progress 百读不厌 be worth reading for many times 百发百中 shoot with great accuracy 百废俱兴 full-scale construction is under way 百分之百 a hundred percent 百感交集 all kinds of feelings well up in one's heart 百里挑一 one in hundred 百炼成钢 be tempered into steel 百年大计 a project of vital and lasting importance 百思不解 remain perplexed despite much thought 百听不厌 worth hearing for many times 百闻不如一见 it is better to see for oneself rather than to hear for many times 百无聊赖 bored and tired 百无一失 no risk at all 百依百顺 docile and obedient 百战百胜 emerge victorious in every battle 百折不挠 be indomitable 百足之虫死而不僵 old institutions die hard 班门弄斧 display one's slight skill before an expert 斑驳陆离 variegated 搬弄是非 sow discord 板上钉钉 no two ways about it 半壁江山 half of the country 半斤八两 Six of one, half a dozen of other 半路出家 become a monk late in life 半瓶醋 dabbler 半生不熟 rawness 半途而废 give up halfway 半信半疑 dubitative 半夜三更 late at night 包罗万象 all-embracing 包治百病 panacea 饱经风霜 weather-beaten 抱头鼠窜 scamper off like a frightened rat 抱薪救火 deal with a situation in a wrong method and make it worse 暴风骤雨 tempest2成语集锦 B暴戾恣睢 extremely cruel and despotic 暴殄天物 a reckless waste of grain 暴跳如雷 stamp with fury 暴饮暴食 engorgement 卑躬屈膝 bow and scrape 杯弓蛇影 extremely suspicious 杯水车薪 an utterly inadequate method in dealing with a severe situation 悲欢离合 vicissitudes of life 悲天悯人 bemoan the state of the universe and pity the fate of humankind 悲痛欲绝 heart-stricken 悲喜交集 joy tempered with sorrow 备而不用 keep sth. for future possible use 背道而驰 run counter to 背后中伤 backbite\ 背井离乡 leave one's native place 背水一战 fight to win or die 背信弃义 be perfidious 悖入悖出 easy come easy go 悖理逆天 sacrilege 本固枝荣 when the root is firm, the branches flourish 笨口拙舌 awkward in speech 笨鸟先飞 the slow need to start early 笨手笨脚 fumble 笨头笨脑 gormlessly 闭关自守 introverted 闭口不言 close-tongued 闭门思过 shut oneself up and ponder over one's mistakes 闭门谢客 lock oneself in 闭门造车 act blindly 闭目塞听 be out of touch with reality 敝帚自珍 All his geese are swans. 壁垒森严 closely guarded 避重就轻 avoid the important and dwell on the trivial 便宜行事 act as one sees fit 变本加厉 be further intensified 变化无常 chop and change 变幻不定的 phantasmagoric 遍体鳞伤 beaten black and blue 标新立异 do sth. unconventional or unorthodox 表里不一 duplicity 别出心裁 try to be unique 别具一格 having a unique style 别开生面 having sth. New 别树一帜 set up a new banner3成语集锦 B别无他法 have no choice but to\ 别无选择 have no alternative but 别有风味 have a distinctive flavour 别有企图 have an axe to grind 别有天地 a place of unique scenery 别有用心 have ulterior motives 宾至如归 guests feel at home 彬彬有礼 refined and courteous 冰冻三尺非一日之寒 Rome is not build in one day 冰冷如石 stone-cold 冰天雪地 a world of ice and snow 冰消瓦解 disintegrated 兵不血刃 win victory without battle 兵不厌诈 in war nothing is too deceitful 兵贵神速 speed is too important in war 兵荒马乱 turmoil of war 兵临城下 the attacking army has reached the city gates 兵强马壮 a powerful army 并驾齐驱 run neck and neck 勃然大怒 explode with lyric wrath 博闻强记 have wide learning and a retentive memory 薄利多销 small profits but quick turnover 捕风捉影 speak or act on hearsay evidence 不白之冤 injustice 不败之地 invincible position 不避艰险 not afraid of difficulty or danger 不便之处 discomfort 不耻下问 feel not ashamed to learn from one's subordinates 不辞而别 leave without saying goodbye 不辞水火 thick-and-thin 不法之徒 bad man 不分皂白 indiscriminate 不攻自破 collapse of itself 不顾一切 fling caution to the winds 不合时宜 behind the time 不怀好意 up to no good 不欢而散 part on bad terms 不计其数 countless 不加思索 think little of 不近人情 unkindness 不进则退 Not to advance is to go back 不胫而走 spread fast 不拘一格 not stick to one pattern 不堪忍受 unbearably4成语集锦 B不堪入目地 indecently 不亢不卑 neither haughty nor humble 不可避免 ineluctability、 不可测知 impenetrability 不可救药 be past praying for 不可理喻的 impenetrable 不可名状 indescribability 不可磨灭的 indelible 不可胜数 countless 不可思议 inconceivability 不可一世 extremely arrogant 不劳而获 reap where one has not sown 不露声色 not show one's feelings 不伦不类 nondescript 不落窠臼 have an original style 不毛之地 infertility 不名一文 penniless 不偏不倚 even-handed 不平而鸣 cry out against injustice 不切实际 unpractical 不求甚解 content with superficial understanding 不屈不挠 fortitude 不容分说 high-handed 不容置疑 unassailable 不三不四 dubious 不胜枚举 too numerous to mention one by one 不省人事 fainting 不失时机 lose no time 不识时务 be insensible 不速之客 crasher 不同凡响 outstanding 不为人知的 unbeknown 不为所动 rise superior to 不务正业 not attend to one's proper works or duties 不修边幅 slovenly 不虚此行 worthy trip 不学无术 ignorant 不言而喻 tell its own story 不遗余力 spare no effort 不以为然 not approve 不翼而飞 disappear without trace 不由自主 involuntarily 不远千里 go to the trouble of travelling a long distance 不约而同 happen to coincide5成语集锦 B不在话下 不择手段 不折不扣 不知不觉 不置可否 不足为奇 不足为训 步步为营 步调一致 步履蹒跚 步履维艰 步人后尘be nothing difficult by any kind of means one hundred percent unconsciously not express an opinion be all in the day's work not to be taken as an example consolidate step by step in step teeter walk with difficulty follow the trail of6成语集锦 C财迷心窍 拆东墙补西墙 长吁短叹 尘世浮华 趁热打铁 吃一堑长一智 愁眉苦脸 唇枪舌剑 唇亡齿寒 船到桥头自然直 创业不易，守业更难 吹毛求疵 垂头丧气 粗枝大叶 魑魅魍魉Avarice blinds our eyes to rob Peter to pay Paul Sign deeply the pomps and vanities of this heartless world strike the iron while it’s hot A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. down in the dumps Lips are as sharp as a spear, tongue as sword. When lips are gone, the teeth will be exposed to danger. Let's cross the bridge when we come to it. Keeping is harder than winning. to pick on something to find faults with be in low spirits to do something in broad strokes or rough outline to be in a crude and careless way Demons and devils7成语集锦 D大惊小怪 to make a fuss (of) 大刀阔斧 drive and ability to make sharp determination 大逆不道 a gross impropriety 胆小如鼠 a mouse of man 断子绝孙 To die sonless 对牛弹琴 music played before an ox8
成语集锦 J机不可失, 时不再来 a. Opportunity knocks but once, hour never come again.(Literal) b. Time waits for no man. (Omission) c. Now or never.(free translation) d. A mill cannot grind with the water that is past.(sub.) 鸡毛蒜皮 Trifle 积少成多 Many a little makes a mickle Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves. 积小利，成巨富。Small gains bring great wealth. 技能和信心是无敌的军队。Skill and confidence are an unconquered army. 集思广益 Four eyes see more than two 集腋成裘 Many a little makes a mickle A penny saved is a penny earned many drops make an ocean/shower 己所不欲勿施于人 do not unto others what you would not be done by 既往不咎 Let bygones be bygones Let the dead bury the dead 俭以防匮 Waste not, want not 骄兵必败 A proud army is bound to be defeated. Pride defeats an army. 脚踏实地 be down-to-earth 脚踩两只船 Sit on the fence 节食博士、精心博士、快乐博士，三人都是最好的医生。 The best physicians are Dr. Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman. The pick of the bunch 节俭本身就是一宗财产。Frugality is an estate alone. 节俭是致富的秘诀。The secret of wealth lieth in the letters SAVE 借花献佛 to present Buddha with borrowed flowers 借尸还魂 To resurrect a dead soul by borrowing a corpse 金无足赤,人无完人 a. The sun has its spots.(Substitution.) b. Every bean has its black.(sub.) c. There are lees to every wine.(sub.) d. He is lifeless that is faultless.(Free) e. To err is human. (free & Sub.) Every man has his faults． 金蝉脱壳 To escape by crafty scheme 筋疲力尽 To one's fatigued senses 金玉满堂 Treasures fill the home 惊弓之鸟 A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string 精神旺盛 to be full of beans 经一事，长一智 In doing we learn. 经验是最好的教师。Experience is the best teacher. 经验是知识之父， 记忆是知识之母。 Experience is the father of wisdom and memory the mother.13成语集锦 J井然有序 锦上添花 Apples of gold in pictures of silver Apple- pie order 谨慎和勤奋带来好运 Care and diligence bring luck. 进退维谷 in a dilemma 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 Who keeps company with the wolf, will learn to howl. Keep good men company and you shall be of the number. 近墨者黑 He who lies down with dogs will rise up with fleas 近水楼台先得月 have easy access to a special benefit e.g. Almost all managers are in the position of having easy access to a special benefit. 几乎所有的经理都处在近水楼台先得月的地位。 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 汉英词典的译文为：One who stays near vermillion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black. 或 one takes on the color of one's company. 也有人译成： When you touch black, you become black, when you touch red, you become red. 英语国家中也有一些相近的表达方式： One takes the behavior of one's company. (一个人的行为，往往受到朋友的影响。) One takes on the attributes of one's associates. (attributes 复数r是指品质、特性； associates 指朋友、同事) Watch the company you keep！（小心交朋友！） As one who lies with dogs will ride with fleas, how could your son learn anything good by mixing with those people? (就像和狗躺在一起的人身上会爬满虱子，你儿子跟那些人混 在一起,能学出个好样来?) 惊弓之鸟 A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string 惊心动魄 soul-stirring 敬而远之 Keep somebody at arm’s length 精神旺盛 to be full of beans 静以修身 A light heart lives long. 举棋不定 couldn’t make up one’s mind14成语集锦 K口蜜腹剑 wolf in sheep’s clothing15成语集锦 L来得容易，去得快 Light come, light go. 了如指掌 like the back of his hand 良药苦口 A good medicine tastes bitter. 良药苦口利于病 Bitter pills may have wholesome effects． 烈火试真金，困苦炼壮士 The fire adversity of strong man. 乱七八糟的 at sixes and sevens 落井下石 kick somebody when he is down, etc.16成语集锦 M满城风雨 (to become) the talk of the town慢条斯理 slowly美满幸福,一路顺风 Roses all the way 美若天仙 as fair as Helen of Sparta 面黄肌瘦 pallid, skinny and slow-witted./ barber's cat 明珠暗投，对牛弹琴 Cast pearls before swine. 名门淑女 Young lady of fashion 莫逆之交 entering into a stri摩拳擦掌 rolled up his sleeves谋事在人，成事在天 &The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. Man proposes； God disposes. 木已成舟 The die is cast. What is done is done 目空一切 be on the high horse 目不侧视 glancing neither to right nor left17成语集锦 N难以捉摸 as deep as a well 逆境成才 Adversity is a good discipline. 逆境是通向成功之路 Adversity leads to prosperity． 宁为鸡口，勿为牛后 better be the head of an ass than the tail of a horse 宁为玉碎,不为瓦全 All or nothing. 弄巧成拙
Cu trying to be smart one makes himself look foolish 努力工作 Put your shoulder to the wheel. 怒不可遏 to tear her hair18PThe onlooker sees most of the game throw good money after bad to hold one's sides with laughter carping Willful waste makes woeful want. to burn the boat19
成语集锦 R惹是生非 to wake sleeping dogs 热泪盈眶 her eyes brimmed 热锅上的蚂蚁 a cat on hot bricks 人比人，气死人 Comparisons are odious 人不可貌相 A fair face may hide a foul heart. 人才济济 a galaxy of talents e.g. With you, there is with us colorless mediocrities. 你们那里是人才济济；我们这儿呢――草包一堆！ 人多好办事 Many hands make light work. 人非生而知之 No man is born wise or learned. 人逢喜事精神爽 Joy puts heart into a man. 人海战术 huge-crowd strategy 人杰地灵 its talented people are outstanding, and the spirit of intelligence pervades the place 人去楼空 the bird had flown 人生有限，学问无涯 Art is long, but life is short. 人云亦云 echo repeat like a parrot 人在江湖，身不由己 Not driving but driven in such a world. 人之初，性本善 Man’s nature at birth is good. 忍气吞声 to eat humble pie 容光焕发 Their faces are glowing with joys. 如虎添翼 have given wings to a tiger 如梦初醒 rude awakening 入乡随俗 While in Rome , do as Romans do. Other countries, other ways. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Explanation: conform to the manners and customs of those amongst whom you live. Example: I know you have egg and bacon for breakfast at home, but now you are on the Continent. You will do as the Romans do and take coffee and rolls. 瑞雪兆丰年 A timely snow promises a good harvest. 若要求知，必须刻苦 If you want knowledge, you must toil for it.21成语集锦 S塞翁失马,安知祸福 Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise \Who can know whether it is a blessing in disguise 三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮 Two heads are better than one. 三十六计， 走为上策 If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen 三思而后行 Look before you leap. First think, then act. 三心二意，举棋不定 couldn’t make her mind 色厉内荏 A bully is always a coward 杀鸡用牛刀 break a butterfly on the wheel 山穷水尽 till the end of time 山中无老虎,猴子称霸王 when the cat is away, the mice will play 闪光的未必皆是金子 All is not gold that glitters 少年老成 have an old head on young shoulders 少时懒惰老来苦 A lazy youth, a lousy age. 少说多干 Few words，many deeds． 少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲 An idle youth, a needy age. 舍己为人 to bell the cat 深藏不露： to hide one's light under a bushel 身教重于言传 A good example is the best sermon． 身临其境 so vividly portrayed that the reader feels as if he is participating 身体健壮就有希望，有了希望就有了一切 He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything. 身正不怕影子斜 A clean hand wants no washing 声东击西 to make a faint to the east but attack in the west /to shoot at a pigeon and kill a crow 生命不息，希望常在 Where there is life, there is hope. 生活是可爱的；人无不好生(恶死) . Life is sweet. 生活优裕 to live like pigs in clover (红花草地里就餐) 生命不息，希望长在 Where there is life, there is hope. 什么都想一次做完，结果一件也做不完；贪多嚼不烂 He that doth most at once doth least. 省一文是一文 A penny saved is a penny gained 胜利属于坚忍不拔的人 Success belongs to the persevering. 失败是成功之母 Failure is the mother of success. 失魂落魄 scared out of my wits 失之东隅，收之桑榆 What you lose on the swings you get back on the roundabouts. 时不我待 Time and tide wait for no man 十九次失败，到第二十次获得成功，这就叫坚持 Perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth. 实话实说 s
tell it as it is 实践是检验真理的唯一标准 Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth 实践出真知 The proof of the pudding is in the eating 实事求是 to seek truth from the facts 时过境迁 dead and buried 是人皆有出头日 every dog has his day . 试金之石可试金，正如黄金能试人 As the touchstone tries gold, so gold tries man. 世界好似一把梯，有人上去有人下 The world is a ladder for some to go up and others to go22成语集锦 Sdown. 事后诸葛亮 to be wise after the event 事难两全 if you sell the cow, you sell her milk too. 事实胜于雄辩 Action speak louder than words. 事业可以考验人，也可以造就人 Business makes a man as well as tries him. 事业是生命之盐 Business is the salt of life. 事业虽扰人，懒惰害更大 Business may be troublesome, but idleness is pernicious. 事业在先，享乐在后 Business before pleasure. 拭目以待 To wait and see 世上无难事，只怕有心人 Nothing is impossible to a willing mind. 世上无难事，只要肯登攀 Nothing is difficult to the man who will try 视死如归 look on death without flinching 守口如瓶 as dumb as an oyster/ as silent as the grave 守株待兔 to wait for gains without pains 手足无措 at a loss 书本不常翻，犹如一块砖 A book that remains shut is but a block 熟练来自经验 Dexterity comes by experience. 熟能生巧 Practice makes perfect. 树倒猢狲散 Rats desert a falling house 谁笑在最后，谁笑得最好 He who laughs last laughs best. 谁负担费用， 谁加以控制 He who pays the piper, calls the tune 说曹操， 曹操到 talk of the devil, and he’s sure to come 水涨船高 When the river rises, the boat floats high 说我们好话的未必都是朋友 All are not friends that speak us fair 死不瞑目 cannot rest in one’s grave 死里逃生 to be saved out of the very grave 四大皆空 all is vanity 四十不惑 Life begins at forty. 殊途同归 There is more than one way to skin a cat 俗话说，衣柜里面藏骷髅，见不得人的事情家家有 Every family is said to have at least one skeleton in the cupboard23成语集锦 T贪得无厌 insatiably greedy. 贪多必失 Grasp all, lose all. 昙花一现 a flash in the pan 叹为观止 What perfection! 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole lurking behind itself 糖衣炮弹 sugar-coated bullets 天才是一分灵感加九十九分血汗。Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. 天赐良机 a heaven-sent opportunity. 天生的才干如同天生的植物一样，需要靠学习来修剪。(英国哲学家 培根 . F.) Natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study. (Francis Bacon , British philosopher ) 天涯原咫尺，到处可逢君 World is but a little place, after all. 甜言胜过酸语 You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. 天有不测风云 Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue 天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福 Nothing is so certain as the unexpected. 条条道路通罗马。All roads lead to Rome． 铁石心肠，挑三拣四的人 An obdurate critic 听其自然 leave someone alone ! 同捐前嫌，共竟祖国统一大业…… ……to let bygones be bygones, strive together for the great cause of national unification…… 通向光荣的道路常常是崎岖的。The path to glory is always rugged. 通百艺而专一长 Knowing something of everything, and everything of something. 同病相怜 Misery loves company. 铜墙铁壁 wall of bronze 徒劳无益 It's no use pumping a dry well 团结则昌，分裂则亡 By uniting we stand；by dividing we fall． 退避三舍 Keep sb. at an arm’s length 吞吞吐吐 stumble24成语集锦 W歪风邪气 unhealthy practices and evil phenomena 万事亨通 everything is going my way 万众一心 thousands of hearts beat as one 王婆卖瓜 all one’s geese are swans every potter praises his own pot. 王婆买瓜，自卖自夸 brag and boast 忘恩负义 forgotten his debt to Number One 望子成龙 hold high hopes for one’s child 妄自菲薄 unduly humble yourself 为虎作伥 Ghosts of people eaten by tigers help the tigers eat other people. 唯利是图 draw water to one's mill. 味同嚼蜡 as dry as sawdust 未雨绸缪 A stitch in time save nine. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Don’t wait for a rainy day to fix the roof. Always prepare for a rainy day. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Cast an anchor to windward. 温故知新 Remember the past and it will guide your future。 文韬武略 Military strategy 瓮中之鳖 a rat in a hole 卧虎藏龙 a hiding dragon and crouching tiger 屋漏又逢连阴雨 Misfortunes never come singly. When it rains it pours. 无风不起浪 No smoke without fire. 无影无踪 without a trace 无源之水,无本之木 water without a source, and a tree without roots 无忧无虑 a mind free of any consideration of problems 无中生有 make/create something out of nothing 五十步笑百步 the pot calls the kettle black 物伤其类 like begets like \like cures like \ like draws to like 物以类聚，人以群分 birds of a feather flock together Things of one kind come together. Birds of a feather flock together.25
成语集锦 Y掩耳盗铃 The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream. 言过其实―― to turn geese into swans 言归正传―― to return to one's muttons 言者无罪，闻者足戒 Blame not the speaker but be warned by his word 养尊处优―― to live like a fighting cock 养尊处优 to eat high off the hog(猪身上两部上面的肉) 邀功领赏 carry favor and take credit 遥遥领先 go on to head his field 夜长梦多 A long night is fraught with dreams. 优胜劣汰 survival of the fittest 犹大之吻；口蜜腹剑。Judas kiss=kiss of death 游刃有余、得心应手 to do sth. swimmingly（from Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin） 有情人终成眷属 All shall be well and Jack shall have Jill. Feels emotion the human finally to become the family member Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well. 有钱能使鬼推磨 Money makes the mare go. Money talks. 有识之士 people of vision 有眼不识泰山 entertain an angel unawares 有勇无谋 use brawn rather than brain 一不做，二不休 One may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. 一帆风顺 plain sailing 一箭双雕 kill two birds with one stone 一面之交 a mere acquaintance 一命呜呼 Of the hook 一贫如洗；家徒四壁 as poor as Job as poor as a Church mouse 一丘之貉 birds of one feather 一丝不挂 to have not a stitch on 一生清贫 be poor but remain clean all one's life 一五一十 in detail, 一心一意 heart and soul 一言既出，驷马难追 A real man never goes back on his words. 一朝被蛇咬，见绳也心惊 Once bitten（或 bit） ，twice shy. 一针见血 to a point；to touch a nerve\to hit the nail right on the head 遗臭万年 A bad thing never dies. 疑神疑鬼 to be afraid of one’s own shadow 以毒攻毒 fight fire with fire 以其人之道还治其人之身 pay sb. back in his own coin 以人为本 people foremost 以牙还牙 Tit for tat give as good as one gets28成语集锦 Y艺不压身 Knowledge is no burden. 易如反掌：as easy as turning over one's hand 因材施教 teach students according to their aptitude 因小失大 as “penny wise, pound foolish”, 英雄所见略同 Great minds think alike. 引狼入室 Set a fox to keep one's geese. 引经据典 with learned quote 犹豫不决 to shilly and shally 油嘴滑舌 glib tongue 鱼米之乡 a land of milk and honey a land flowing with milk and honey 与时俱进 advance with times 雨后春笋 Like bamboo shoots after a spring shower. 欲加之罪 何患无辞 give a dog a bad name and hang him leave sb. at large in order to apprehend him afterwards. 欲擒故纵 play cat and mouse game with… 欲速则不达 haste makes waste. leave sb. at large in order to apprehend him afterwards. Haste does not bring success. 冤家宜解不宜结 Better make friends than make enemies. 缘木求鱼 to fish in the air, to milk the bull 跃跃欲试 in her eagerness to29成语集锦 Z子虚乌有 thin air 自吹自擂 Brag and boast 自助者，天助之 God helps those who help themselves. 自命大材小用，往往眼高手低 He that thinks his business below him will always be above his business. 自力更生 regenerate through one’s own efforts 自作自受 as to lie in the bed one has made. 自己该做的事，决不要委托给旁人做。Never trust another what you should do yourself. 自信是向成功之路迈开的第一步。Confidence in yourself is the first step on the road to success． 自信为英雄品质之本。Self-trust is the essence of heroism. 择友宜慎，弃友更宜慎。Be slow choosing a friend；slower in changing．最会夸夸其谈的人也 最会说谎。A great talker is a great liar. 最爱自吹自擂的人是最大的说谎者。The greatest liars talk most of themselves. 最简短的回答就是一个“干”字。The shortest answer is doing the thing. 左右逢源 Butter both sides of one’s bread 坐收渔利 reap the spoils of victory with 坐立不安 ants in one's pants 做事不要半途而废。Never do things by halves. 做事一开头，就要做到底；一不做，二不休。In for a penny, in for a pound. 做事只要有耐心，到头总会有好运；耐心候好运，好运常会来。Fortune often rewards with interest those that have patience to wait for her 在你信任一个人之前，先要深入了解他 Eat a peck of salt with a man before you trust him. 早睡早起， 富裕、 聪明、 身体好。 Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. 早点着手，事易成功。Early start makes easy stages． 斩草除根 Pluck up the evil by the roots 斩钉截铁 incisively 掌上明珠 the apple of one’ eye 朝三暮四 To blow hot and cold 照大多数人那样干，人们会把你称赞。Do as most men do and men will speak well of thee. 张三李四 / 阿狗阿猫 any Tom, Dick or Harry 真理是时间的女儿。Truth is the daughter of time. 真理面目善良；但衣衫褴褛。Truth hath a good face, but ill clothes. 真理和玫瑰，身旁都有刺。Truth and roses have thorns about them. 真理可能会被责难，但绝不会受羞辱。Truth may be blamed, but shall never be shamed. 真理必胜 Truth will prevail. 真相迟早会大白。Sooner or later, the truth comes to light. 忠言逆耳，良药苦口 Truth hurts. 知识就是力量。 (英国哲学家 培根. F.) Knowledge is power . 知识能使好人更好，坏人更坏。Learning makes a good man better and ill man worse. 知足常乐 A contented mind is a perpetual feast． 知足常富 A contented mind is always rich． 知识能使好人更好，坏人更坏 Learning makes a good man better and ill man worse.30成语集锦 Z直言不讳 call a spade a spade 只要人有恒，万事都能成。Stick to it, and you'll succeed. 只工作，不玩耍，聪明孩子也变傻。All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. 最好的马要驯，最伶俐的孩子要教。The best horse needs breeding, and the aptest child needs teaching. 只有死人才不会犯错误。Lifeless, faultless. 只工作，不玩耍，聪明小孩也变傻。All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. 只凭一句赞美的话我就可以充实地活上两个月。(美国作家 马克? 吐温) I can live for two months on a good compliment. (Mark Twain) 只要信任你自己，旁人才不出卖你。Trust thyself only, and another shall not betray thee. 只要肯等待，一切都会按时来。All things will come round to him who will but wait. 趾高气扬，得意忘形 Be above oneself 智者千虑，必有一失。No man is wise at all times. 质重于量。Quality matters more than quantity. 众擎易举。Many hands make light work. 众人的事就是无人过问的事。Everybody's business is nobody's business31附录On Translation of Chinese IdiomsTranslation, a work of creation and art, is a complex process which we must handle with great strictness and care. It requires accuracy, intelligibility and a style appropriate to the occasion. Its task is to help the communication and promote mutual understanding between different peoples. During this process many problems and contradictions are to tackled with skill and precision. The translation of idioms is one such difficulty we must face, and they are known for the challenges they pose and painstaking efforts their translation requires. Our mother tongue, the Chinese language, is particularly rich in idioms which are, as we know, usually forcible, terse and vivid, although they mostly contain only four characters. The same meaning could often be set forth in some other ways, but usually with much less forcefulness and terseness. Chinese idioms, in another way of speaking, idiomatic terms of expression, are one part of precious heritage of Chinese literature. They reflect the characteristics of a nation and its culture. Some of them are rather straightforward, while others are fairly polished and still others highly metaphysical. Many of them possess some of the following characteristics which add to their expressiveness and sense of beauty. 1) Rhyme, e.g. 继往开来，凤毛麟角，所向披靡 2) Repetition, e.g.勤勤恳恳，马马虎虎，糊里糊涂，想入非非 3) Parallelism, e.g.狼吞虎咽，阳奉阴违，铜墙铁壁，低三下四 Some of them have independent meanings which can not be rendered literally. For example, 三心二意，雪中送炭，乱七八糟. All these characteristics make it all the more difficult to offer to the foreign readers a better sight of Chinese culture as embodied in Chinese idioms. Traditionally, there are two major orientations in translation practice, literal and free. The method of literal translation preserves the integrity of the source language(SL) text, but at the expense of the formal elements of the target language(TL) and even the intelligibility of the target language text. Those who favor free translation have usually chosen to sacrifice the form of the source language. Yet the differences in language structure, diversities of culture and distinct literary specializations are too acute to preserve. All we can manage is to deal with different problems with different methods, sometimes literal, sometimes free, and the same idioms might require different renderings in different circumstances. All these raise a great problem of choice between the two methods. This is especially true for the translation of Chinese idioms. To solve this problem, Dr. Eugene A. Nida founded a new theory on translation: Dynamic Equivalence. That is to say, one translator must try to make the response of the TL receptors to the TL text roughly equivalent to that of the SL receptors to the SL text, i.e. to arrive at an equivalence in the relationships of receptors to their respective languages. “To arrive at a satisfactory dynamic equivalent translation, one can not merely make compromises between literal and free renderings, nor can one succeed by merely simplifying the grammar and restricting the numbers of words in a vocabulary. One must: 1) weigh all the factors involved
2) produce various alternative renderings especially32附录3) test the acceptability and intelligibility of such renderings with receptors.” (From ON TRANSLATION by Jin Di, p. 90) Good translators are always thinking in terms of alternative ways of expressing the same thing, choosing the best or the better rendering from various alternatives. Some may be literal, some free, and some others somewhat in between. What is important, however, is that the chosen rendering should serve essentially the same purpose or function in the TL as the SL text serves in the source language. “When aim is to produce a dynamic equivalence, determined primarily by a comparison of the impact and appeal in the texts of the source language and the target language, the basis for the choice of one or another alternative must depend upon: 1) faithfulness to the context of the
2) the respective functions of the literary genre in the source
3) the decoding c 4) how and in what circumstances the target language text is to be employed.” (From ON TRANSLATION by Jin Di, p. 91) Among all the requirements above, faithfulness is the most important factor. Mr. Lu Xun once said, “while translating, we must, firstly, try to make it easy to understand, secondly, of course, preserve the characteristics of the original one.” (“凡是翻译，必须兼顾两面，一当然力 求其易解，一则保存着原作的丰姿。”自鲁迅《且介亭杂文》) For instance, when we meet the idiom“快刀斩乱麻”, we can not simply render it as “to cut the Gordian knot”. Although the English idiom has the same meaning, it carries too strong nationality because of the origin of the story of “Gordian knot”. Thus, to eliminate its English national flavor, we might rather render it as “to cut the knot”. Generally speaking, we must try to reach a dynamic equivalent translation and keep the translation faithful to the SL text. Therefore, we should adopt different methods under different situations, that is, to find specific ways to solve specific problems,---- if you allow me to use a Chinese idiom, ----对症下药. The following is some commonly used methods in translating Chinese idioms, which are all further illustrated by a few examples.I. Literal TranslationLiteral translation is a translation method which requires us to put across the Chinese idioms word by word according to its literal meaning. But it is not allowed to violate the basic grammatical rules of the target language and thus cause misconception and wrong ideas. This method can help retain the metaphor, image and characteristics of the culture reflected in the original idioms. For example, when we describe a person who is very brave, we say: ……义胆包身,武艺出众,敢赴汤蹈火…… Which can be rendered as: “He has such a brave disposition, and such fine military training that he should not be afraid of jumping into hot water or walking through fire” As we know, 赴汤蹈火 means that a person is brave enough to risk his own life, or shun no33附录difficulty and danger. Yet, if we render it as “go through thick and thin” or“undaunted by danger”, it surely won’t be as impressive, vivid and faithful to the original as the one we have chosen here, from which the English readers can easily imagine his bravery. Another example, when we say something is very easy to do, we always use the idiom 易如 反掌, which we can translate into “as easy as turning one’s hand over”, which is brief, terse and forcible. Here are some more examples: 1. 这对她，真是喜从天降，是用世界上一切值钱的东西都无法恒量的宝物。――椹容 《减去十岁》 For her this heaven-sent stroke of luck was a boon not all the money in the world could buy. (from TEN YEARS OFF in Chinese Literature, Spring, 1987) 2．特别是对他这样一个年近半百的中年知识分子，能追回十年光阴，真是天赐良机。 Especially for him, a middle-aged intellectual approaching fifty, the recovery of ten years was a heaven-sent opportunity. (ibid) 3. 然而她给学生讲高尔基的《海燕》 ，讲深的时候她常常热泪盈眶。 （王蒙《轮下》 ） …though her eyes brimmed when she taught Gorky’s The Stormy Petrel. (from Chinese Literature, autumn, 1987, Under the Wheel) 4. 嘴上还咯咯的笑着说：“这叫画饼充饥。”（梁斌《红旗谱》 ） Now he chuckled and commented: “that’s called ‘drawing a cake to satisfy your hunger’!” 5. 这个场面写得很生动，使人有身临其境之感。 The scene is so vividly portrayed that the reader feels as if he is participating. 6. 几乎在分到房子的同时， 姐姐寄来了一笔钱， 侨汇券， 外汇券， 人民币如虎添翼。 （王 蒙《高原的风》 ） And at the same time as he got the flats, she sent him money, which brought him foreign exchange certificates and overseas Chinese coupons. All this seemed to have given wings to a tiger. 7. 实事求是 to seek truth from the facts 声东击西 to make a faint to the east but attack in the west 自力更生 regenerate through one’s own efforts 弄巧成拙 in trying to be smart one makes himself look foolish 混淆黑白 to mix up black and whiteII. SubstitutionLike the Chinese language, English possesses a rich store of idioms, too. They are delicate, concise, vivid and expressive. For example, “to kick down the ladder,” means “to treat with contempt those through whose assistance one has risen to a position of importance”, something like 过河拆桥 in Chinese. Another example would be the idiom of “to put all one’s eggs in one basket”, which means “to risk everything one has in one single venture”. We sometimes could render it as 孤注一掷. In spite of the great discrepancy in their culture, history, living and geographic environment, traditions and national psychology, some idioms in the English and Chinese language do match with each other very perfectly. Therefore, we can almost replace one with the other under many34附录circumstances. But one thing we must be warned against is that we can only adopt this method under the condition that it does not contradict with the context and most important of all, remain faithful to the meaning of the original text. A. When one English idiom is in coincidence with the Chinese idiom in both content and form, and they both have the same meaning or implication, and if it is required, the same or similar image and metaphor, we can put this English/Chinese directly into use. Take the idiom 破釜沉舟 for example. We can render it as “to burn the boat” because these two idioms share not only similar meaning but also similar origins. The Chinese one comes from the story of Xiang Yu in which he led his army across the Hunghe River and ordered the boats to be burnt down, showing his determination to fight the enemy till death. Julius Caesar used the same strategy in fighting a decisive battle with Pompey. Thus, we can almost say that these two idioms are equivalent both in form and in meaning. Another example is 趁热打铁 which can be rendered as “strike the iron while it’s hot”. They both are equivalent in the metaphor they use, and meaning they express. Such a rendering would naturally be faithful to the original idiom. 1. 暴躁的火就从心头炎炎地向上直冒， 而在这时候， 吴为成又说了几句火上添油的话。 （茅盾《子夜》 ） The smouldering fires of his resentment blazed into life one more, and Wei-cheng hose this moment to pour oil on the flames.我们哪有五百万算来还可以赚进十二三万， 不过剩下的五百万就没有把握， 谋事在 人，成事在天。 （茅盾《子夜》 ） “We’ll probably make a profit of about a hundred and twenty or thirty thousand dollars on the first five million, but it’s a job to say whether we’ll make anything on the other five million. Man proposes, God disposes.” 3. 他对这个班的情况了如指掌。 He knew everything about the class like the back of his hand. 4. 听到你被揪出来我立刻失魂落魄。 （王蒙《轮下》 ） In 1957, I was scared out of my wits when I heard that you had been ferreted out. (From Chinese Literature, Autumn, 1987) 5. 他俩的水平半斤八两。 Their abilities are six of one and half a dozen of the other. 6. 青天霹雳，a bolt from the blue 隔墙有耳，walls have ears 一帆风顺，plain sailing 浑水摸鱼，to fish in troubled water 一丝不挂，to have not a stitch on 说曹操，曹操到 talk of the devil, and he’s sure to come 心有余而力不足 the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, etc. B. When some Chinese idioms and their corresponding English ones are both superficial in meaning, easy to understand and with no risk of retaining any trace of their local flavor, do not hesitate to adopt them. Here are some examples: 1. 办公室主任手足无措，姬文耀训斥道……（谌容《减去十岁》 ） seeing the man at a loss, he thundered… 2. 2. 我们说的都是些一针见血的话。《巴金全集》 （ ，第七卷第 48 页）35附录When we did talk it was always to the point. (From Autumn in Spring, Panda Book) 3. 我的心里乱七八糟的，不知干什么好。 I’m all at sixes and sevens about what to do. 4. 我现在是进退维谷。 I’m quite in a dilemma now. 5. 兴高采烈 in high spirits 垂头丧气 in low spirits 一心一意 heart and soul 犹豫不决 to shilly and shally 既往不咎 to let bygones be bygones 疑神疑鬼 to be afraid of one’s own shadow If a certain metaphor is used in the corresponding English idiom but not in the Chinese one, and the English one possesses no strong characteristics which reveals sharp differences between the two cultures, we can adopt it accordingly to express the idea embedded in the original Chinese idioms. For example, 少年老成 contains no metaphor, we can render it with an English idiom“to have an old head on young shoulders”. But if we render 因小失大 as “penny wise, pound foolish”, it would not be faithful to the Chinese text because the “penny” and “pound” are all British currencies. Similarly, we can render 忍气吞声 as “to eat humble pie”, 本末倒置 as to put the cart before the horse, 防微杜渐 as to nip in the bud, 自作自受 as to lie in the bed one has made. 1． 这些日子为年龄过线，必然退下来的事,搞得他愁眉苦脸。 （谌容《减去十岁》 ） He’s been so down in the dumps, about reaching retirement age… 2． 直言不讳 call a spade a spade 厚颜无耻 as bold as brass 祸不单行 it never rains but it pours 大惊小怪 to make a fuss (of) C. If the metaphors used in a Chinese idiom and its corresponding one are quite different, we can usually deal with it with the method of literal translation. But if its literal translation turns out to be too long, tedious and ineffective, and may cause misunderstanding, we can express it with an alternative English idiom with the similar meaning as long as it fits perfectly in the general context. For example, we can translate 集腋成裘 into “many drops make an ocean/shower”, which has same meaning, though with different metaphors. If we translate it literally into the bits of fur from the axillae of many foxes taken together will make a robe, it will be too wordy and awkward to read, therefore making it hard for us to catch its general meaning, and consequently lose the characteristics of conciseness and terseness of average idioms and produce nothing but satisfactory result. Of course, nothing is absolute. If the literal rendering is required by its context, or the English idiom has too strong national characteristics, we must adopt the method of literal translation instead. 1. 探春坐下，便问：“刚才谁在这里说话，倒象拌嘴?”迎春笑道：“没什么，左不过他 们小题大做罢了，何必问他？”（ 《红楼梦》第七十三回） Tan-chun sat down and asked, “who were talking in here just now? it sounds like a quarrel.” “not really,” Ying-chun told her, “they were making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s nothing to worry about.” (Translated by the Yangs)36附录2.她在第一次算术测试时得了一百分， 但这只是昙花一现， 后来算术考试她却没有及 格。 She got 100 in the first test in arithmetic but it was just a flash in the pan because she failed in the arithmetic exam later on. 我倒有一个一箭双雕的办法。 I have got a way out which can kill two birds with one stone. 他们个个摩拳擦掌，准备入场进行球赛。 Every one of them rolled up his sleeves to go into the field for the match. 有话不分明说，许你们这样鬼鬼祟祟的干什么故事？（ 《红楼梦》第九回） But why not talk openly instead of in this hole-and-corner fashion?(Translated by Yangs) 热锅上的蚂蚁 a cat on hot bricks 一针见血 to hit the nail right on the head 一丘之貉 birds of one feather 掌上明珠 the apple of one’ eye 非驴非马 neither fish nor fowl 别有用心 have an axe to grind 落井下石 kick somebody when he is down, etc.3. 4. 5. 6.D. Some of the Chinese idioms originated in some historic story or classical worlds yet they are so often used that their origins are long forgotten and their meanings become fixed. Facing these idioms, we can either use the corresponding English idioms or translate it in accordance with the meanings they generally implicate. It is unnecessary for us to revive the historic stories again. For example, “得陇望蜀”, it is an idiom which roughly means “贪得无 厌”―insatiably greedy. It refers to the Emperor Liu Xiu in the East Han Dynasty who ordered one of his general to invade Sichuan after he conquered Gansu. He said“即平陇,复望蜀”. To repeat this origin is definitely like to gild the lily(画蛇添足)which is very unnecessary, i.e., if we render it literally as “to look forwards to Sichuan after getting Gansu”. The foreign readers would not be able to make head and tails of it unless we add some detailed explanation. A better way of putting it would be to simply use an English idiom with somewhat similar meaning: “to give him an inch and he’ll take an ell/ a mile”, or some other ways around. Some more examples are: 退避三舍 Keep sb. at an arm’s length 班门弄斧 To teach one’s grandmother how to suck eggs 塞翁失马,安知祸福 Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise 五十步笑百步 The pot calls the kettle black 朝三暮四 To blow hot and cold, etc.III. Free TranslationThat is to say, to translate the Chinese idioms according to what they mean and what fits in the context. The renderings can be so free that the same idiom may be rendered differently in different context. Therefore, this method is called free translation.37附录When both of the methods mentioned above are not available or do not suit perfectly in the context, we must sacrifice the style of the original idiom and translate it in such a way that the rendering is in full agreement with its context and able to retain the totality of text it is in. A. Some of the idioms originate in some historic or classical fables, they are so often used their origins are forgotten, and they are only used as a symbol of certain fixed meanings. It is unnecessary for us reiterate the origins and if no appropriate English idioms with the same meanings are available, we have to resort to this method. But, we must remember, our renderings must fit their contexts naturally and perfectly. For example: 他向来是惯叫农民来钻他得圈套的， 真不料这回演了一套“请君入瓮”的把戏。 （茅盾 《子 夜》 ） He had become so used to setting traps for peasants all these years that it came as rather a shock to him to find he had walked into a snare himself. B. Some of other idioms have lost their image while being used and can be used as a linguistic unit which represents a certain meaning without even a hint of their metaphors. We can deal with them with the method of free translation. Let’s take “粗枝大叶”for instance. This idiom, retaining no hint of any “branch” or “leaves”, simply means “to do something in broad strokes or rough outline/ in a crude and careless way”. 1. 听到妻子的脚步声，他腾地扭过头来，两眼方放出炯炯的光芒，斩钉截铁地说…… （谌容《减去十岁》 ） Hearing his wife come in he turned his head, his eyes flashing, and said incisively…(from Chinese Literature, Spring, 1987, Ten Years off) 2. 你说出国以后最怀念的十国内的政治学习讨论会，一屋子人吸着烟，泡着茶，谈论 举国形势的大好，风气的干不正，既可以发泄牢骚，又可以表忠心，既可以引经据 典，又可以海阔天空……（王蒙《轮下》 ） it was political study session at home you missed most since leaving, you said, brewing tea in smoke filled rooms as you chatted about how excellent things were or how dreadful the social mood, letting off stream or pledging loyalty at will with learned quote or flight of fancy, American would never in a lifetime enjoy such a good time. (From Chinese Literature, Autumn, 1987, Under the wheel) 3. 是她打开了我爱的园门，我得和她走到山穷水尽。《老舍全集》 （ ） She had opened the garden of love to me, and I must stay by her till the end of time. 4. 然而真奇怪， 向来是气魄非凡， 动辄大刀阔斧的吴孙莆此时却沉着脸儿沉吟了。 （茅 盾《子夜》 ） But strange to say, Wu Sun-pu, who was known for his drive and ability to make sharp determination now hesitated and looked worried. 5. 拐弯抹角 in a roundabout way 鸡毛蒜皮 trifle 吹毛求疵 pick on sth, to find faults with 木已成舟 what is done is done 单刀直入 in a straightforward way C. Some of the idioms are literally illegible or inexplicable, e.g.南来北往, 乱七八糟 . Naturally we cannot render then literally, and thus we have to resort to the method of free translation.38附录1. （她）三心二意，举棋不定。 （同上） She couldn’t make her mind.（ibid B1） 2. 刘雨生回到乡政府，把老谢的话，一五一十，告诉了邓秀梅和李月辉。 （周立波《乡 村巨变》 ） When Liu Yu-sheng got back to the township government, he recounted everything Lao Hsieh had said in detail, to Teng Hsiu-mei and Li Yueh-hui. 3. 冯永祥思索地搔搔头皮，装出一肚子原则和标准的神情，慢条斯理地说……（周而 复《上海的早晨》 ） Feng Yung-hsiang began slowly, scratching his head in thought and putting on an expression that suggested that he was in a position to talk for hours on guiding principles and standards. 4. 范进……被胡屠夫一口啐在脸上，骂了一个狗血喷头…… Butcher Hu spat in his face, and poured out a torrent of abuse. D. Some idioms are literally logical and clearly meant and sometimes with easy metaphors, but they still can’t be translated literally, because, once rendered literally, the translations will be: a. too long, wordy and tedious without any effect b. not expressive c. not in agreement with the whole text and may cause misconception on the part of the foreign readers. When we come across such idioms, and find no proper English idioms available, we can render it with the method of free translation. For example, 风 声 鹤 唳 , 草 木 皆 兵 . This idiom has a historic origin and is logically clear----with literally clear meaning or an easy metaphor, if we rendered it as: “to be scared by the whistle of the wind and the cry of the cranes, fearing ambush at every tree and tuft of grass,” it would be too wordy and not quite effective in addition. If we take a whole view of the content and render it accordingly as “to be seized with imaginary fears”, it would seem much clearer in meaning and expressive in grasping the gist of the original idiom. 1. “我的身体很好，”这一问，石明华跃跃欲试，确实觉得自己身体很好。(同上，B1) “My health is fine, ” in her eagerness to get back to work, she really felt fit.(ibid, B1) 2. 眼瞅着已近而立之年，还是光棍一条，饥不择食。 （同上） A bachelor nearing thirty couldn’t be choosy. 3. 减去十岁，振奋得月娟心花怒放，想入非非。 （同上） The thought of ten years off had thrown Yue juan into raptures and fired her imagination. 4. 在你强烈由衷的反应面前别人的一切反应都黯然失色。 （同 II，A4） All other reactions paled beside the heartfelt vigour of yours. 5. 但就在与 J 结婚的那天晚上，你就已经意识到你正酿就一个大错误，你后悔莫及。 （同上） …but that you had realized on the wedding night that it was a recipe for disaster and were consumed with regret. 6. 你激烈地抨击那些一到美国就马上用“白华”的口气把中国没头没脸地骂一通，并以 此来讨好，邀功领赏的家伙们。 （同上） You lashed out at the fellows who berated China in White Chinese terms the minute39附录they arrived in America, to carry favor and take credit. 7. L 已经完全变成一个婆婆妈妈，胆小如鼠的庸人。 （同上） He had turned into a total a mouse of man, a milksop and a mediocrity. 8. 只要我拿起笔来，就万事亨通，我不怕在多忙乱之后，也能安心写作。 （老舍《一 天》 ） With a pen in my hand, I feel like everyt no matter how much excitement I’ve been through, I can always sit down and get to work. 9. “呕！”他确是吓了以一跳，好像坐车不带行李是大逆不道似的。 （老舍《马裤先生》 ） “Oh!” That came as a real surprise to him, as if it were a gross impropriety to travel by train without luggage. 10. ……直到不约而同的垂下头去，又不约而同的抬起来，又那么看。 《老舍全集》 （ ） With one accord, we hung our heads, with one accord raised them again to exchange long glances. (Panda Book, Crescent Moon)IV. Combination of Literal Translation and Free TranslationIn order to express the original meaning more accurately and effectively and without causing any puzzlement and misunderstanding, we sometimes can use these two methods at the same time. For instance, 事后诸葛亮. If we render it literally as “to be ChuGeh Liang after the event”, the translation will puzzle the foreign readers for they don’t know who and what he is. On the other hand, if we combine both the methods above and render it as “to be wise after the event”, which seems to suit the English language and culture better. Here are more examples: 斩草除根 Pluck up the evil by the roots 风餐露宿 Brave the wind and dew 拭目以待 To wait and see 闭门造车 Work behind closed doors 1. 我是问心无愧，我是视死如归。 （郭沫若《屈原》 ） I have nothing to be ashamed of. I can look on death without flinching. 2. 王冕一路风餐露宿，九十里大站，六十里小站，一径来到山东济南府地方。 （吴敬 梓《儒林外史》 ） Braving the wind and dew, Wang Mian traveled day after day past large posing stations and small, till he came to the city of Tsinan. 3. “对牛弹琴”，当然引不起小孩们的兴趣。 （李六如《六十年的变迁》 ） Just like music played before an ox, the book naturally failed to interest the boys.(对牛 is not translated literally as “to play the harp”, while 弹琴 is rendered literally as “before an ox”) 4. 唇亡齿寒的故事他在中学里就知道了。 （周 1 复《上海的早晨》 ） Even as a middle school student he had learned the classical story of how when lips are gone, the teeth will be exposed to danger.40附录V. Temporary Conversion of the Corresponding English IdiomsIn order to render a Chinese idiom, sometimes it is necessary for us to change the form of a certain English idioms to fit the meaning of the Chinese one. For example, 换汤不换药. Its literal translation surely can’t be very effective and expressive. And if we resort to free translation, i.e. simply put the general meaning across, it will become too plain and lose the vividness of the original idiom. Yet, here, we have an English idiom “new wine in old bottles”. If we change it into “old wine in new bottles”, it can fit the Chinese idiom perfectly. Instantly, the work of translation becomes a very interesting creation rather than a boring and tedious task that we are obliged to fulfill. Another example is 物伤其类. “Like mourns over the death of like” is a temporary conversion of the English idioms with “like … like”, such as “like begets like”, “like cures like”, “like draws to like”, etc. 守株待兔 originates from a Chinese classical fable about a man in the State of Song during the Warring States Period who, having seen a hare run into a tree trunk and die with its neck broken, then waited every day at the foot of the tree for another hare to come. Now we use this idiom to describe the ones who longs for gains without making any effort. If we adopt the English idiom “no pains, no gains”, and render this Chinese idiom as “to wait for gains without pains”, it would be able to express the original conception clearly and somewhat retain the characteristics of the Chinese idiom to some extent. Similarly, we can using an English idiom “to turn in one’s grave” and render 死不瞑目 as “cannot rest in one’s grave”.VI. OmissionA. In Chinese language, we sometimes use the idioms of similar meaning at the same time to beautify the rhyme, form and put due emphasis on the content. When we come to render it into English, it’s unnecessary for us to copy the same method in expressing the same idea. All we have to do is pick one of them and put it into English. For example, in Chinese, we always utter 取 之不尽 together with 用之不竭. One English word “inexhaustible” or “abundant” would be fairly enough for us. More examples are: 1. 风声鹤唳，草木皆兵 To fear ambush at every tree and tuft of grass 2. 塞翁失马，安知祸福 Who can know whether it is a blessing in disguise B. In some four-character idioms, the first two characters are parallel to the latter two and symmetric both in form and meaning. Yet in English language, no such kind of rhetorical method is used. Therefore, all we should do is to render only one half of the idiom and discard the other half. For example, in 贪官污吏, 贪官 almost means exactly the same as 污吏. Thus, “corrupt officials” is enough for its translation. Similarly, in 铜墙铁壁, 铜墙 (bronze wall) and 铁壁(iron wall) metaphorically refers to the same thing, we can therefore render it as “wall of bronze”. Here are some more examples: 长吁短叹 Sign deeply, 无影无踪 without a trace41附录断子绝孙 To die sonless, 千真万确 Quite true, 油嘴滑舌 glib tongue,评头论足 carping 清规戒律 taboos 惊心动魄 soul-stirring, etc.C. Some of the Chinese idioms are the repetition of the same two characters, e.g. 糊里糊涂 are repetitions of 糊涂, 慌慌张张 and of 慌张. So we can translate them according to the meaning of the original shorter expression. Let’s see: 1. 鬼鬼祟祟 stealthily，吞吞吐吐 stumble 2. 唯唯诺诺 a yes-man，战战兢兢 shake 3. 郁郁葱葱 green and luxuriant D. When the context has made everything clear, we can omit some part of the idiom which can be easily imagined or is of no help to the understanding of the text. 1. ……三十岁在某个领域里遥遥领先。 （同 II B1） …then go on to head his field while in his thirties. Here, 遥遥（far ahead） is omitted. 2. 小林昂首挺胸，目不侧视，步履轻快……（同上） Throwing out her chest, glancing neither to right nor left, she hurried with a light step. Here 昂首 is cancelled. 3. 小弟虽然发了财，却没忘恩负义。 （陆文夫《清高》 ） Though Number Three was rich now, he hadn’t forgotten his debt to Number One. (Other-worldly) 4. “你大哥人很好，只是太清高，比较起来还是我们志趣相投，有共同语言。”（同上） “He’s fine, but a bit other-worldy. By comparison the two of us have the taste in common.”VII. AmplificationAmplification, as it means literally, is the opposite of the method of omission. But remember that all we’ve added must add no extra meaning to the original, but help the understanding of the foreign readers. We adopt this method when the original idiom means more than what is signified in the metaphor it uses and we cannot possibly express it clearly unless we add something explanatory to help and to make it suit the meaning of the context. For example, 借花献佛. If we render it literally as “to present Buddha with borrowed flowers” has the meaning behind, the foreign reader cannot understand what “borrowed flowers” and to “present to Buddha” are and what they actually mean. We must, therefore, add something to show its implication of selfishness. Thus, we could, on some occasions, put it into something like: “to present Buddha with borrowed flowers for one’s own sake”. Another example is that when we say someone is doing 画饼充饥, we have to add something like“he is good at self-delusion” to the literal rendering “he can satisfy his hunger on a crayoned cake” in some context. Some other examples are: 1. 三头六臂 Three-headed monster with six arms42附录2. 3. 4. 5. 6.螳螂捕蝉， 黄雀在后 The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole lurking behind itself 惊弓之鸟 A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string 唇枪舌剑 Lips are as sharp as a spear, tongue as sword Of course, we have another method available here, that is, annotation. For example:“难道这也是个痴丫头，又象颦儿来葬花不成？” 因自笑道：“若真也葬花，可谓‘东 施效颦’了。不但不为新奇，而且更加可厌。”（ 《红楼梦》 ） “Can this be another absurd maid come to bury flowers like Taiyu?” he wondered in some amusement. “If so, she’s ‘Tung Shih imitating Hsi Shih’, which isn’t original but rather tiresome.” ***Hsi shih was famous beauty in the ancient kingdom of Yueh. Tung Shih was an ugly girl who tried to imitate her ways. (Translated by the Yangs) But another translator uses the method of amplification, retelling the story in the idiom, yet fitting content very well: “Can this be some silly maid come here to bury flowers like Frowner?” he wondered. He was reminded of the Zhuangzi’s story of the beautiful Xi-shi’s ugly neighbour, who endeavors to imitate the little frown that made Xi-shi captivating producing an aspect so hideous that people ran from her in terror. The recollection of it made him smile. “This is imitating the Frowner with a vengeance,” he thought, “if that is recently what she is doing. Not merely unoriginal, but downright disgusting!” (Translated by David Hawkes)VIII. AnnotationSome of the Chinese idioms can only be rendered clearly when their historic background and origin are revealed. While they are being translated, amplification is a possible way out. Yet if it still does not work well, we have to resort to the method of annotation. Annotation is to add notes besides the textual translation to further illustrate the idiom so that foreign readers may have a thorough understanding of it. In fact, we have already seen the usefulness of this method in the last example. Annotation is a necessary method, except that sometimes, too many and too long notes may spoil the cleanness of the text and reduce the effectiveness of the translation because the TL reader would have to stop to read the note and consequently would fail to be able to finish the sentence at one glance. Heavily subtitled films are naturally not very effective and thus less attractive to any viewer. Annotation is the last choice we have to turn to. Of course, some of this kind of Chinese idioms can find their corresponding English idioms. While translating, we have to take the context into consideration and decide which of the two methods is more suitable for the occasion and turn out more effective. For example, there is one sentence in the novel Ni Huan-zhi (《倪焕之》)by Ye Shengtao: 这样，他采取“守株待兔”的态度，还是当他的乡董。 The English translation is: Accordingly, having adopted this attitude of “watching the stump and waiting for a hare”, he continued with his councillorship. (Translated by A. C. Barnes) ***Note: the story of a peasant who, seeing a hare run heading against a tree-stump and waited by the stump in the hope that another hare would do the same thing.43附录We can see, adding a note is a proper way out here. But in the play Comrade, You Take A Wrong Road(《同志，你走错了路》), we cannot do the same because the method of annotation is quite useless when it is to be acted on stage. Therefore, we can render it as “waiting for gains without pains”, with a temporary conversion of an English idiom: 否则，袖手旁观，守株待兔，就变成了长期不抗不战了。 Otherwise, standing by with folded arms and waiting for gains without pains will prove to be nothing but long-term non-resistance. (Translated by A. M. Condron)IX. Use of Figures of SpeechMany Chinese idioms are decorated with various kinds of figures of speech, such as parallelism, rhyme, alliteration, repetition, etc. We can use some of these figures of speech when we render some of these Chinese idioms into English on the condition that it would not do any damage to the content of the idiom in the SL text in trying to do so. Here are some translations guided by this method: 1. 2. 3. 魑魅魍魉 Demons and devils (alliteration) 吃一堑长一智 A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. (parallelism and rhyme) 自吹自擂 Brag and boast (alliteration)X. Classical Literary StyleAs we know, many Chinese idioms are known for their long history. They are in classical Chinese themselves. If we render them in old English language or style, the foreign reader will be able to better and more fully appreciate the beauty in the style of the original Chinese idiom. For example: 1. 2. 3. 4. 己所不欲勿施于人 do not unto others what you would not be done by. 祸兮福所倚，福兮祸所伏 Good fortune lieth within bad, bad fortune lurketh within good. 言者无罪，闻者足戒 Blame not the speaker but be warned by his word. 合抱之木，生于毫末 Great oaks from little acme grow.THE END44
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