23个中国成语的英文翻译

1.爱屋及乌
Love me, love my dog.

2.百闻不如一见 （眼见为实 ）
Seeing is believing.

3.比上不足比下有余
worse off than some, better off than many; to fall short of the best, but be better than the worst.

4.笨鸟先飞
A slow sparrow should make an early start.

5.不眠之夜
white night

6.不以物喜不以己悲
not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personnal losses

7.不遗余力
spare no effort; go all out; do one's best

8.不打不成交
No discord, no concord.

9.拆东墙补西墙
rob Peter to pay Paul

10.辞旧迎新
bid farewell to the old and usher in the new; ring out the old year and ring in the new

11.大事化小小事化了
try first to make their mistake sound less serious and then to reduce it to nothing at all

12.大开眼界
open one's eyes; broaden one's horizon; be an eye-opener

13.国泰民安
The country flourishes and people live in peace

14.过犹不及
going too far is as bad as not going far enough; beyond is as wrong as falling short; too much is as bad as too little

15.功夫不负有心人
Everything comes to him who waits.

16.好了伤疤忘了疼
once on shore, one prays no more

17.好事不出门恶事传千里
Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spread far and wide.

18.和气生财
Harmony brings wealth.

19.活到老学到老
One is never too old to learn.

20.既往不咎
let bygones be bygones

21.金无足赤人无完人
Gold can't be pure and man can't be perfect.

22.金玉满堂
Treasures fill the home.

23.脚踏实地
be down-to-earth

24.脚踩两只船
sit on the fence

25.君子之交淡如水
the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as crystal; a hedge between keeps friendship green

26.老生常谈陈词滥调
cut and dried, cliché

27.礼尚往来
Courtesy calls for reciprocity.

28.留得青山在不怕没柴烧
Where there is life, there is hope.

29.马到成功
achieve immediate victory; win instant success

30.名利双收
gain in both fame and wealth

31.茅塞顿开
be suddenly enlightened

32.没有规矩不成方圆
Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.

33.每逢佳节倍思亲
On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.It is on the festival occasions when one misses his dear most.

34.谋事在人成事在天
The planning lies with man, the outcome with Heaven. Man proposes, God disposes.

35.弄巧成拙
be too smart by half; Cunning outwits itself

36.拿手好戏
masterpiece

37.赔了夫人又折兵
throw good money after bad

38.抛砖引玉
a modest spur to induce others to come forward with valuable contributions; throw a sprat to catch a whale

39.破釜沉舟
cut off all means of retreat；burn one‘s own way of retreat and be determined to fight to the end

40.抢得先机
take the preemptive opportunities

41.巧妇难为无米之炊
If you have no hand you can't make a fist. One can't make bricks without straw.

42.千里之行始于足下
a thousand-li journey begins with the first step--the highest eminence is to be gained step by step

43.前事不忘后事之师
Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future.

44.前人栽树后人乘凉
One generation plants the trees in whose shade another generation rests.One sows and another reaps.

45.前怕狼后怕虎
fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind hesitate in doing something

46.强龙难压地头蛇
Even a dragon (from the outside) finds it hard to control a snake in its old haunt - Powerful outsiders can hardly afford to neglect local bullies.

47.强强联手
win-win co-operation

48.瑞雪兆丰年
A timely snow promises a good harvest.

49.人之初性本善
Man's nature at birth is good.

50.人逢喜事精神爽
Joy puts heart into a man.

51.人海战术
huge-crowd strategy

52.世上无难事只要肯攀登
Where there is a will, there is a way.

53.世外桃源
a fictitious land of peace away from the turmoil of the world;

54.死而后已
until my heart stops beating

55.岁岁平安
Peace all year round.

56.上有天堂下有苏杭
Just as there is paradise in heaven, ther are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth

57.塞翁失马焉知非福
Misfortune may be an actual blessing.

58.三十而立
A man should be independent at the age of thirty.At thirty, a man should be able to think for himself.

59.升级换代
updating and upgrading (of products)

60.四十不惑
Life begins at forty.

61.谁言寸草心报得三春晖
Such kindness of warm sun, can't be repaid by grass.

62.水涨船高
When the river rises, the boat floats high.

63.时不我待
Time and tide wait for no man.

64.杀鸡用牛刀
break a butterfly on the wheel

65.实事求是
seek truth from facts; be practical and realistic; be true to facts

66.说曹操,曹操到
Talk of the devil and he comes.

67.实话实说
speak the plain truth; call a spade a spade; tell it as it is

68.实践是检验真理的唯一标准
Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

69.山不在高，有仙则名
No matter how high the mountain is, its name will spread far and wide if there is a fairy.

70.韬光养晦
hide one's capacities and bide one's time

71.糖衣炮弹
sugar-coated bullets

72.天有不测风云
Anything unexpected may happen. a bolt from the blue

73.团结就是力量
Unity is strength.

74.“跳进黄河洗不清”
'eve if one jumped into the Yellow River, one can not wash oneself clean--there's nothing one can do to clear one's name '

75.歪风邪气
unhealthy practices and evil phenomena

76.物以类聚，人以群分
Birds of a feather flock together.

77.往事如风
The past has vanished (from memory) like wind.; What in past, is past.

78.望子成龙
hold high hopes for one's child

79.屋漏又逢连阴雨
Misfortunes never come singly. When it rains it pours.

80.文韬武略military expertise; military strategy

81.唯利是图
draw water to one's mill

82.无源之水,无本之木
water without a source, and a tree wiithout roots

83.无中生有
make create something out of nothing

84.无风不起浪
There are no waves without wind. There's no smoke without fire.

85.徇私枉法
bend the law for the benefit of relatives or friends

86.新官上任三把火
a new broom sweeps clean

87.虚心使人进步,骄傲使人落后
Modesty helps one go forward, whereas conceit makes one lag behind.

88. 蓄势而发
accumulate strength for a take-off

89.心想事成
May all your wish come true

90.心照不宣
have a tacit understanding; give tacit consent; tacit understanding

91.先入为主
First impressions are firmly entrenched.

92.先下手为强
catch the ball before the bound

93.像热锅上的蚂蚁
like an ant on a hot pan

94.现身说法
warn people by taking oneself as an example

95.息事宁人
pour oil on troubled waters

96.喜忧参半
mingled hope and fear

97.循序渐进
step by step

98.一路平安，一路顺风
speed somebody on their way; speed the parting guest

99.严以律己,宽以待人
be strict with oneself and lenient towards others

100.鱼米之乡
land of honey and milk

101.有情人终成眷属
Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well.

102.有钱能使鬼推磨
Money makes the mare go. Money talks.

103.有识之士
people of vision

104.有勇无谋
use brawn rather than brain

105.有缘千里来相会
Separated as we are thousands of miles apart, we come together as if by predestination.

106.与时俱进
advance with times

107.以人为本
people oriented; people foremost

108.因材施教
teach students according to their aptitude

109.欲穷千里目，更上一层楼
'to ascend another storey to see a thousand miles further; Ascend further, were you to look farther; Would eye embrace a thousand miles? Go up, one flight.' a land of milk and honey

110.欲速则不达
Haste does not bring success.

111. 优胜劣汰
survival of the fittest

112.英雄所见略同
Great minds think alike.

113.冤家宜解不宜结
Better make friends than make enemies.

114.冤假错案
'cases in which people were unjustly, falsely or wrongly charged or sentenced; unjust, false or wrong cases'

115.一言既出，驷马难追
A real man never goes back on his words.

116.招财进宝
Money and treasures will be plentiful

117.债台高筑
become debt-ridden

118.致命要害
Achilles' heel

119.众矢之的
target of public criticism

120.知己知彼,百战不殆
Know the enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat.

121.纸上谈兵
be an armchair strategist

122.纸包不住火
Truth will come to light sooner or later.

123.左右为难
between the devil and the deep blue sea

Writing Numbers --- 英文写数字的规则

Rule 1

Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine.
Examples:
I want five copies.
I want 10 copies.

Rule 2

Be consistent within a category. For example, if you choose numerals because one of the numbers is greater than nine, use numerals for all numbers in that category. If you choose to spell out numbers because one of the numbers is a single digit, spell out all numbers in that category.
If you have numbers in different categories, use numerals for one category and spell out the other.
Correct:
My 10 cats fought with their 2 cats.
My ten cats fought with their two cats.
Given the budget constraints, if all 30 history students attend the four plays, then the 7 math students will be able to attend only two plays. (Students are represented with figures; plays are represented with words.)
Incorrect:
I asked for five pencils, not 50.

Rule 3

Always spell out simple fractions and use hyphens with them.
Examples:
One-half of the pies have been eaten.
A two-thirds majority is required for that bill to pass in Congress.

Rule 4

A mixed fraction can be expressed in figures unless it is the first word of a sentence.
Examples:
We expect a 5 1/2 percent wage increase.
Five and one-half percent was the maximum allowable interest.

Rule 5

The simplest way to express large numbers is best. Round numbers are usually spelled out. Be careful to be consistent within a sentence.
Correct:
You can earn from one million to five million dollars.
Incorrect:
You can earn from one million to $5,000,000.
Correct:
You can earn from five hundred to five million dollars.
You can earn from $5 hundred to $5 million.
Incorrect:
You can earn from $500 to $5 million.
You can earn from $500 to five million dollars.

Rule 6

Write decimals in figures. Put a zero in front of a decimal unless the decimal itself begins with a zero.
Examples:
The plant grew 0.79 of a foot in one year.
The plant grew only .07 of a foot this year because of the drought.

Rule 7

With numbers of four or more digits, use commas. Count three spaces to the left of the ones column to place the first comma. If the number contains seven or more digits, continue placing commas after every three places.
Examples:
$1,054.21
2,417,592

Rule 8

The following examples apply when using dates:
Examples:
The meeting is scheduled for June 30.
The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June.
We have had tricks played on us on April 1.
The 1st of April puts some people on edge.

Rule 9

When expressing decades, you may spell them out and lowercase them.
Example:
During the eighties and nineties, the U.S. economy grew.

Rule 10

If you wish to express decades using incomplete numerals, put an apostrophe before the incomplete numeral but not between the year and the s.
Correct:
During the '80s and '90s, the U.S. economy grew.
Incorrect:
During the '80's and '90's, the U.S. economy grew.

Rule 11

You may also express decades in complete numerals. Again, don't use an apostrophe between the year and the s.
Example:
During the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. economy grew.

Rule 12

Normally, spell out the time of day in text even with half and quarter hours. With o'clock, the number is always spelled out.
Examples:
She gets up at four thirty before the baby wakes up.
The baby wakes up at five o'clock in the morning.

Rule 13

Use numerals with the time of day when exact times are being emphasized or when using A.M. or P.M.
Examples:
Monib's flight leaves at 6:22 A.M.
Please arrive by 12:30 sharp.
She had a 7:00 P.M. deadline.

Rule 14

Use noon and midnight rather than 12:00 P.M. and 12:00 A.M.

Rule 15

Hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.
Examples:
Forty-three persons were injured in the train wreck.
Twenty-three of them were hospitalized.

Rule 16

Write out a number if it begins a sentence.
Examples:
Twenty-nine people won an award for helping their communities.
That 29 people won an award for helping their communities was fantastic! OR
That twenty-nine people won an award for helping their communities was fantastic!

What't the difference between "Please be advised" & "please advise"

1. Please be advised that we have received your letter. This means 'We want to tell you that we have received it'. It's a standard business expression. Personally, I dislike this as it seems to serve no purpose usually. I'd omit it, and just say 'We have received your letter.
 
2. Please advise that we have received your letter. This is wrong. It makes no sense.