Category: Chinese phrases

jià chu qu de nǚ ér pō chu qu de shuĭ – shōu bù huí lái
嫁出去的女儿，泼出去的水 – 收不回来
A married daughter is like spilt water. – A married daughter is no longer a member of the family. Figuratively, it means something cannot be taken back.

bān mén nòng fŭ – zì bù liàng lì
班门弄斧 – 自不量力
Wield the axe before Lu Ban (the ancient master carpenter); display one’s learning or parade one’s skill in the presence of an expert – overestimate oneself or one’s strength; overrate oneself

kŏng fū zǐ jiāo sān zì jīng – mái mò rén cái
孔夫子教《三字经》 – 埋没人才
Confucius teaches  Three Character Classic  or  Three Character Primer. (The  Three Character Classic  refers to a three character textbook for beginners, which is said to be compiled by Wang Yinglin (王应麟) of the southern Song Dynasty.) – stifle real talents

lú gōu qiáo de shí shī zi – shǔ bù qīng
卢沟桥的石狮子 – 数不清
There are numerous stone lions on Lugou Bridge. (Lugou Bridge, also known as Macro Polo Bridge, was first built in 1187 to the southwest of today’s Beijing.) – a large amount