Chinesetolearn ♫ learn Mandarin in a fun way ♫

Chinese wisdom — The cracked pot

This video is not about Chinese allegories, but I like it a lot — it is full of universal wisdom:) — Love me a little bit longer

歇后语 xie1 huo4 yu3（Chinese allegories）

Chinese allegories

Two-part allegorical saying (of which the first part, always stated, is descriptive, while the second part, often unstated, carries the message)

Chū shēng de niú dú – bù pà hŭ

初生的牛犊 – 不怕虎

New born calves are not afraid of tigers. – Young people dare do anything and fear nothing.

Wén zi zhăo zhī zhū – zì tóu luó wăng

蚊子找蜘蛛 – 自投罗网

A mosquito looks for a spider – throw oneself into a trap; bite the hook

Zhēn jiān duì mài máng – zhēn fēng xiāng duì

针尖对麦芒 – 针锋相对

A pin against an awn – be diametrically opposed

Tiān xià wū yā – yī bān hēi

天下乌鸦 – 一般黑

All crows are black. – Evil people are the same all over the world; in every country dogs bite.

Shí wŭ ge diào tŏng dă shuǐ – qī shàng bā xià

十五个吊桶打水 – 七上八下

Have one’s heart clang like fifteen buckets in one well, seven going up and eight going down – have one’s heart pound with uncertainty, fear or turmoil

Niú tóu bù duì mă zuĭ – hú lā luàn chĕ

牛头不对马嘴 – 胡拉乱扯

Horses’ jaws don’t match cows’ heads – incongruous; irrelevant

Zhàng èr hé shang – mō bu zháo tóu năo

丈二和尚 – 摸不着头脑

You cannot touch the head of a ten-foot monk. – can’t make head or tail of something; completely fail to understand

Yī ge bā zhang pāi bu xiăng – gū zhăng nán míng

一个巴掌拍不响 – 孤掌难鸣

You can’t clap with one hand; it takes two to make a quarrel; it takes two to tango. – It’s difficult to achieve anything without support.

The above info come from:

http://bbs.english.sina.com/viewthread.php?tid=11047

Other Chinese allegories:

fēng chuī qiáng tóu căo – liăng biān dăo

风吹墙头草 – 两边倒

The grass on top of a wall blows either way with the wind – someone who sits on the fence will end up going along with the crowd; to sit on the fence

dă zhǒng liăn chōng pàng zi – sĭ yào miàn zi

打肿脸充胖子 – 死要面子

Try to look fat by slapping one’s face till it’s swollen – to try to look impressive; be keen on face-saving

māo kū hào zi – jiă cí bēi

猫哭耗子 – 假慈悲

A cat crying over a mouse’s death – hypocritical show of sorrow or sympathy; shedding crocodile tears

lăo hŭ zuĭ li bá yá – zhăo sĭ

老虎嘴里拔牙 – 找死

Pulling teeth from a tiger’s mouth – seeking death; dare the greatest danger; beard the lion in his den

jī dàn pèng shí tou – zì bù liàng lì

鸡蛋碰石头 – 自不量力

Like an egg striking a rock – attacking somebody far stronger than oneself; overestimating oneself or one’s strength; overrating oneself

jiăn le zhī ma diū le xī guā – tān xiăo shī dà

捡了芝麻丢了西瓜 – 贪小失大

Pick up the sesame seeds but overlook the watermelons – covet a little and lose a lot; seek small gains but incur big losses; be penny-wise and pound-foolish

méi mao hú zi yī bă zhuā – zhŭ cì bù fēn

眉毛胡子一把抓 – 主次不分

Try to grasp the eyebrows and the beard all at the same time – try to attend to everything at once irrespective of priority; confuse the primary with the secondary

wáng pó mài guā – zì mài zì kuā

王婆卖瓜 – 自卖自夸

Wang Po keeps praising his melons while selling them. – ring one’s own bell; blow one’s own trumpet.

These allegories come from:

http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/allegories/2009-03/23/content_17487939.htm

Another great Chinese allegories website is http://www.hanyu.com.cn/en/

it is under the Chinese culture tab