113. Juan And Half (Juan y Medio) Once upon a time there was a soldier named Juan And Half, who could eat the communal meal for seven soldiers and still remained hungry. One day, the captain called him in and said: How is it that you are never full from eating? [Note: In Spanish, his…
Cǐ dì wú yín sān bǎi liǎng (此地無銀三百兩 – 此地无银三百两)
此地無銀三百兩 (Cǐ dì wú yín sān bǎi liǎng) Lit. 300 silver taels not hidden here (idiom); fig. to reveal what one intends to hide From: https://www.chinesewords.org/idiom/show-3675.html Story: Once upon a time there was a man name Zhang San (張三, lit. Zhang the Third) who liked to act cleverly. He had saved up three hundred taels…
112. The Wolf Who Thinks The Moon Is A Wheel of Cheese
112. The Wolf Who Thinks The Moon Is A Wheel Of Cheese (El Lobo Cree Que La Luna Es Queso) One night, a very hungry wolf was going round and round in the forest in search of something to eat, but no animal was within his reach. In one such instance, he ran into a…
Chún wáng chǐ hán (唇亡齒寒 – 唇亡齿寒)
唇亡齒寒 (Chún wáng chǐ hán) Lit. without the lips, the teeth feel the cold (idiom); fig. intimately interdependent In the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Xian of Jin wanted to expand his influence and territory, thus he made up excuses that the neighboring State of [Western] Guo (虢) had often infringed on Jin’s border, so…
111. The Lying Girl
111. The Lying Girl (La Muchacha Embustera) A farmer had a daughter who brought him lunch everyday to where he was working. On one of those days in which the mother sent the girl over with [his] lunch, she encountered Our Lady on the way. And Our Lady said to her: Would you like to…
Chéng fēng pò làng (乘風破浪 – 乘风破浪)
乘風破浪 (Chéng fēng pò làng) To brave the wind and the billows (idiom); to have high ambitions Explanation: Follow the wind and brave the waves to move forward. This is a metaphor for having great ambitions and being not afraid of difficult circumstances. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the Song Kingdom had a…
110. The Three Stepbrothers
110. The Three Stepbrothers (Los Tres Hermanastros) There were once three stepbrothers. The first was the son of a nobleman, the second was the son of a rich man, and the third was the son of a poor man. As they did not get along well, they decided to travel the world and try their…
Chē shuǐ mǎ lóng (車水馬龍 – 车水马龙)
車水馬龍 (Chē shuǐ mǎ lóng)(1) endless stream of horses and carriages (idiom)(2) heavy traffic Source: “Book of the Later Han – Biography of Mingde, Empress Ma“. Explanation: This idiom was shortened from the words in Empress Dowager Ma’s imperial edict. It describes a bustling scene where [a great number of] carriages and horses are coming…
109. The Three Piglets
109. The Three Piglets (Las Tres Cerditas) Once, three [female] piglets were walking down a small road while being very fearful of encountering a wolf. So they stopped and said among themselves: Sisters, why don’t we build a little hut here and the three of us can stay in it to protect ourselves against the…
Cǎo mù jiē bīng (草木皆兵 – 草木皆兵)
草木皆兵 (Cǎo mù jiē bīng) (1) lit. every tree or bush [is like] an enemy soldier (idiom); fig. to panic and treat everyone as an enemy (2) to feel beleaguered Explanation: To take grasses and trees as enemy soldiers. This describes a frightened and paranoid state of mind due to [psychological] shock. This idiom originated…