Similar Expressions in Chinese and English

Mandarin Chinese may be hard to learn, but some Chinese sayings mean exactly the same in English.

lù yáo zhī mǎ lì ,rì jiǔ jiàn rén xīn 
路遥知马力,日久见人心。
Time tries all.

rén fēi shèng xián ,shú néng wú guò 
人非圣贤,孰能无过。
To error is human.

huò bù dān xíng 
祸不单行。
Trouble never comes singly.

yù bàng xiāng zhēng ,yú wēng dé lì 
鹬蚌相争,渔翁得利。
Two dogs strive for a bone, and a third runs away with it.

gé qiáng yǒu ěr 
隔墙有耳。
Walls have ears.

jiā chǒu bù kě wài yáng 
家丑不可外扬。
Wash your dirty linen at home/Don’t wash your dirty linen in public.

xīn guān shàng rèn sān bǎ huǒ 
新官上任三把火。
New brooms sweep clean.

shuǐ dī shí chuān 
水滴石穿。
Water dropping day by day wears the hardest rock away.

sān gè chòu pí jiàng ,sài guò zhū gě liàng
三个臭皮匠,赛过诸葛亮。
Two heads are better than one.

wù yǐ lèi jù ,rén yǐ qún fēn  
物以类聚,人以群分。
Birds of a feather flock together.

fù bú guò sān dài 
富不过三代。
From clogs to clogs is only three generations.

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