Chinese proverbs about foolishness
Proverbs that demonstrate foolishness and stupidity.
煽风点火
incite wind spot fire
Create wind and fire
Create a lot of trouble
换汤不换药
change hot water no change medicine
Change the soup but not the medicine
Not getting to the root of a problem, making superficial changes
Rearranging the deckchairs while the ship is sinking
饮鸠止渴
drink turtledove stop thirst
To quench one's thirst with poisoned wine. The blood of the dove was considered poisonous
To take reckless action regardless of the consequences
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face
无源之水,无本之木
no source water, no root tree
A river without a source, a tree without roots
Something without a proper foundation. Not properly planned
漏洞百出
leak hole hundred get out
Leaking through one hundred holes
Full of mistakes and errors
对牛弹琴
face ox play musical qin
To play a qin (a traditional Chinese musical instrument) to a cow
To address an inappropriate and unappreciative audience
Pearls before swine
眼泪救不了火
tears rescued not fire
Tears do not put out the fire
Decisive action is needed in a crisis not regrets
邯郸学步
Handan study gait
Learning how the residents of Handan walk ➚. A story of a man who took on the gait of a cityfolk trying to impress but could no longer walk properly
Pompous and pretentious. Trying too hard to impress
事实胜于雄辩
affair real victory goto mighty debate
A real victory is better than a great debate
Better to act than just talk about it
Actions speak louder than words
雷声大,雨点小
thunder sound big, rain drop small
Thunder is loud but little rain falls
Overly portentous. Reality does not match expectations
Empty vessels make the most noise
闻风丧胆
hear news lose courage
Panic on hearing news
Panic stricken; terrified by news
纸上谈兵
paper on chat weapon
Talk about battle strategy. An armchair general.
Making theoretical plans ignoring practical considerations
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
一窍不通
all orifice not linked up
All parts of the body are not working together
Incoherent action, not making any sense
驴唇不对马嘴
donkey lips no match horse mouth
Donkey's lips do not fit a horse's mouth
Something that is out of place and inappropriate
以卵击石
use egg strike stone
Try to smash a stone with an egg
Overrate strength and be defeated. An ill-judged contest
井底之蛙
well bottom's frog
A frog in a well. The story is of a frog that only knows of the water in the well and knew nothing of the sea
A blinkered approach to life. Living in own private world ignoring the real world
杯水车薪
cup water vehicle firewood
A glass of water won't put out a car on fire
Not putting in enough effort to solve a problem
牛鼎烹鸡
ox cauldron boil chicken
Cooking a chicken in a pot designed for an ox
Inappropriate level of preparation. A minor event does not require such large preparation
鼠目寸光
mouse eye inch bright
A mouse's vision is only one inch long
Looking ahead for only a short time. Only planning for the immediate future.
Samantabhadra statue at Golden Summit on Emei Shan, Sichuan. April 2009.
Image by Martin Wettig available under a Creative Commons license ➚
也要马儿好,也要马儿不吃草
also want horse good, also want horse not eat grass
Want the horse to prosper, but not want the horse to eat grass
To prosper you must make compromises, you can not have it all your own way
You can't have your cake and eat it
坐井观天
sit well watch sky
To sit at the bottom of a well and view the sky
A blinkered or limited view of the world
东施效颦
Dong Shi imitate knit eyebrows
The story is of Dong Shi, an ugly person imitating the posture of famous beautiful woman Xi Shi ➚ by knitting his eyebrows
Ludicrous self-conceit
飞蛾投火
fly moth hurl fire
A moth throws itself into a flame
Heading for self destruction
Like a moth to a flame
掩耳盗铃
conceal ear steal bell
Covering your ears while stealing the bell
Failing to think things through. Taking a rash action without applying logic
Stupid is as stupid does
死马当活马医
die horse equal live horse doctor
Treating a dead horse as if it is still alive
Persevering when it is already too late. A lost cause
Flogging a dead horse
虾兵蟹将
shrimp soldier crab general
Shrimp soldiers led by a crab general. An ineffective army
A laughably ineffective solution to a problem
九牛一毛
nine ox one hair
Nine cows are missing just one hair
An insignificant amount. A trivial matter
A drop in the ocean
临渴掘井
approach thirsty dig well
To start digging a well only when feeling thirsty
Begin to take measures when it is far too late
Failing to plan is planning to fail
想入非非
want enter wrong wrong
Indulge in fantasy
Let imagination run wild
Head in the clouds
画蛇添足
draw snake add foot
Drawing a foot on a snake
Ruin by over working something. Too meticulous
Gild the lily
大手大脚
big hand big foot
Large hands and feet
Lavish and grandiose expenditure on tasteless trifles
A fool and his money are soon parted
夏虫疑冰
summer insect doubt ice
The summer insect doubts the existence of ice
An ignorant person doesn't understand the wider truth
骑驴找驴
ride donkey look for donkey
Looking for a donkey while sitting on its back
Ignoring the obvious. Absent mindedness
Not looking beyond your nose
肉包子打狗
meat wrap child hit dog
Hitting a dog with a meat bun
To use a self defeating method to solve a problem
看风使舵
look wind steer rudder
Steer the boat wherever the winds lead
Not sticking to the big plan. A fickle mind
小题大作
small topic large work
To talk a lot about very little
Procrastination and exaggeration
Make a mountain out of a molehill
一犬吠影,白犬吠声
one dog bark shadow, one hundred dog bark noise
One dog snarls at a shadow; a hundred howl at each other's barking
Blindly follow a trend without even knowing its origin
打草惊蛇
strike grass startled snake
Striking the grass alerts the snake
It is unwise to alert an enemy
A Chinese People's Armed Police guard on Tiananmen Square, in front of the portrait of Mao Zedong. His rank is the second lowest, Private First Class [1]. 4th June 2007. Photo by Luo Shaoyang ➚ from Beijing available under a Creative Commons license ➚.
缘木求鱼
cause tree seek fish
To catch fish on a tree. To look at a tree hoping it will catch fish.
Waste time doing something pointless and bound to fail
避坑落井
evade pit drop well
Avoid falling into a pit to fall into a well
Avoid one obstacle only to hit another
抱薪救火
hold firewood rescue fire
Holding wood while putting out a fire
Not choosing an appropriate solution to a problem - foolishness
削足适履
trim foot fit shoe
Reshape feet to fit new shoes
Take the wrong decision. Apply an inappropriate solution
种瓜得瓜种豆得豆
plant melon get melon, plant beans get beans
Plant melons and you will harvest melons; plant beans and you will harvest beans
Live with the consequences of your actions
Reap what you sow
画饼充饥
draw biscuit fill hunger
Drawing a biscuit to satisfy hunger
To act foolishly and ineffectively
隔靴搔痒
separate boot scratch itch
Scratching an itch from outside of the shoe
An ineffective solution to a problem
自相矛盾
self mutual contradict
Self contradictory. The story ➚ is about the man who said he had a spear that could pierce anything in the world, but also a shield that was impenetrable to any spear. Both claims could not be true
To speak in contradictions
虎口拔牙
tiger mouth pull up tooth
To extract a tooth from a tiger's mouth
To be very daring and/or to take unnecessary risks
有目共睹
has eye common observe
Seen by everyone. There for all to see
Obvious to everybody
Plain for all to see
凤毛麟角
phoenix hair unicorn horn
As rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns
Seeking the unobtainable
守株待兔
guard trunk wait for hare
Keeps watching a tree waiting for rabbits
Do not just count on luck rather than action to reach your goals
Ignorance is bliss
焚林而畋,竭泽而渔
burn forest but cultivate, exhaust pool but fishing
Burn a forest to farm; drain a pond to fish
Ignoring the consequences
Marry in haste, repent at leisure
破釜沉舟
broken pot sink boat
Smash the pots and sink the boats. A story ➚ from the Qin dynasty tells of a general who refused to accept possibility of retreat by burning the boats and smashing the cooking pots
No going back whatever happens. Cutting off all possibility of retreat
Don't burn your bridges behind you
干活不由东累死也无功
do live no reason master pile up die also no merit
Working without obeying the boss will bring only hard work and no merit
Only work on what is needed to be done
口是心非
mouth OK feeling wrong
Say yes when mean no
To say the opposite of what you really think
亡羊补牢
lose sheep mend pen
Mend the pen after the sheep are lost
Can mean taking action too late or to protect against a future repeat of misfortune
Mend the stable door after the horse has bolted
望梅止渴
gaze plum stop thirst
Gaze at a plum to quench thirst
Vain hope for something unattainable
前怕狼后怕虎
before fear wolf behind fear tiger
To fear wolves ahead and tigers behind
To be obsessed by fears of attack from all sides
Great Hall of the People, Beijing where the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China convenes. January 18, 2003 Photo by Allen Timothy Chang, available under a Creative Commons license ➚.
Our proverbs come with lots of information. The modern Chinese characters are followed by the proverb in pinyin. Next, there is a crude character by character transliteration into English, followed by a more accurate English translation. If this is a Chinese proverb alluding to history the meaning may still not be clear in English, so the general meaning follows. Finally some proverbs have fairly direct English equivalents, if so the English proverb is included at the end.
Our translations need improving, so please let us know if you can help with that.
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