1. 爱叫的母鸡不下蛋 Noisy hens don’t lay eggs. / Boastful people are good for nothing.
2. 百闻不如一见Hearing about it a hundred times is not as good as seeing it just once.
3. 伴君如伴虎 Attending upon a king is like keeping company with a tiger.
4. 饱汉不知饿汉饥 A man with full-belly cannot understand a starving person’s hunger. / People with a fullybelly can’t understand the needs of the starved.
5. 包子有肉，不在褶上 A dumpling’s meat is on the inside, not on the folds outside. / Inner substance can’t be
judged by its superficial appearance.
6. 笨鸟先飞 A clumsy bird has to fly first. / The slow/disadvantaged should start early and work harder.
7. 病从口入，祸从口出 Illness enters via the mouth, disaster comes out of the mouth. / Too much or careless
talk can cause a lot of grievances.
8. 兵败如山倒 Troops defeated are like a mountain collapsing. / (A proverb still frequently used by sports
commentators for when a team is being routed).
9. 冰冻三尺，非一日之寒 Ice frozen three feet thick didn’t happen due to one day’s coldness. / A bad situation
didn’t develop overnight.
10. 兵在精而不在多 Troops are valued for their quality instead of their numbers. / Quality is more important
than quantity.
11. 不当家不知柴米贵 If one is not the household head, he/she can’t know how expensive rice and firewood are. /
Only those who take responsibilities know how difficult it is to get anything done.
12. 不入虎穴焉得虎子？If one does not enter the tigers cave, how can one obtain the tiger cub? / Nothing ventured,
nothing gained.
13. 不如意事常八九There are usually eight or nine out of 10 things in people’s lives which are unsatisfactory. /
People should manage their expectations of life and be content with what they have.
14. 不听老人言，吃亏在眼前 If one does not listen to the words of the elders, one will suffer in the long run.
15. 不孝有三，无后为大 As to unfiliality, there are three types and the greatest is to have no descendants. / There
are three major offences against filial piety of which not producing an heir is the worst.
16. 不以成败论英雄 We should not judge heroes (purely) by their successes and failures.
17. 苍蝇不抱无缝的蛋 No fly will go for uncracked eggs. / The honest cannot be corrupted.
18. 曾经沧海难为水 Having experienced the great ocean, it is difficult to appreciate [ordinary] waters. / For one
who has encountered the extraordinary, everyday experiences pale in comparison.
19. 长江后浪推前浪 In the Yangtze River, the waves behind push on those ahead. / Each generation is replaced by
and often surpassed by the next.
20. 长痛不如短痛 Long pain is not as good as short pain. / It’s better to get over painful things decisively.
