名不正言不顺 名不正言不順 míng bu zhèng yán bu shùn (of a title, degree etc) illegitimately conferred
唯恐天下不乱 唯恐天下不亂 wéi kǒng tiān xià bù luàn to wish for the whole world to be in chaos (idiom)
1. fearing nothing in Heaven or Earth (idiom)2. fearless
天机不可泄漏 天機不可泄漏 tiān jī bù kě xiè lòu 1. lit. mysteries of heaven must not be revealed (idiom); must not be revealed2. I am not at liberty to inform you.
天机不可泄露 天機不可泄露 tiān jī bù kě xiè lù 1. lit. mysteries of heaven must not be revealed (idiom); must not be revealed2. I am not at liberty to inform you.
好男不跟女斗 好男不跟女鬥 hǎo nán bù gēn nǚ dòu a real man doesn't fight with womenfolk (idiom)
家丑不可外传 家醜不可外傳 jiā chǒu bù kě wài chuán lit. family shames must not be spread abroad (idiom); fig. don't wash your dirty linen in public
巧诈不如拙诚 巧詐不如拙誠 qiǎo zhà bù rú zhuō chéng 1. the unvarnished truth is better than a cunning ruse (idiom)2. honesty is the best policy
1. weak and inept person2. hopeless case
持不同政见者 持不同政見者 chí bù tóng zhèng jiàn zhě (political) dissident
择日不如撞日 擇日不如撞日 zé rì bù rú zhuàng rì 1. lit. carefully setting an auspicious date does not beat seizing an opportunity (idiom)2. fig. seize the occasion
you should not covet your friend's wife (idiom)
if you want sth done well, do it yourself (idiom)
烂泥扶不上墙 爛泥扶不上牆 làn ní fú bù shàng qiáng 1. useless (idiom)2. worthless3. inept
1. lit. a dog can't stop himself from eating shit (idiom)2. fig. bad habits are hard to change
神圣不可侵犯 神聖不可侵犯 shén shèng bù kě qīn fàn 1. sacred2. inviolable
耳闻不如目见 耳聞不如目見 ěr wén bù rú mù jiàn seeing sth for oneself is better than hearing about it from others
脚正不怕鞋歪 腳正不怕鞋歪 jiǎo zhèng bù pà xié wāi 1. lit. a straight foot has no fear of a crooked shoe2. an upright man is not afraid of gossip (idiom)
药补不如食补 藥補不如食補 yào bǔ bù rú shí bǔ the benefits of medicine are not as great as those of good nutrition
lit. short-lived cicada does not know the seasons; fig. to see only a small piece of the big picture
蜡烛不点不亮 蠟燭不點不亮 là zhú bù diǎn bù liàng some people have to be pushed for them to take action
言教不如身教 yán jiào bù rú shēn jiào Explaining in words is not as good as teaching by example (idiom). Action speaks louder than words.
请将不如激将 請將不如激將 qǐng jiàng bù rú jī jiàng 1. lit. to dispatch a general is not as effective as to excite a general2. fig. inciting people to action is more effective than dispatching orders
那不勒斯王国 那不勒斯王國 nà bù lè sī wáng guó Kingdom of Naples (1282-1860)
长痛不如短痛 長痛不如短痛 cháng tòng bù rú duǎn tòng better to just get the pain over with, rather than prolong the agony
高不凑低不就 高不湊低不就 gāo bù còu dī bù jiù can't reach the high or accept the low (idiom); not good enough for a high post, but too proud to take a low one
1. lit. either don't do it, or don't rest (idiom)2. fig. if you do it at all, you may as well go the whole hog3. in for a penny, in for a pound
一口吃不成胖子 yī kǒu chī bù chéng pàng zi 1. lit. you cannot get fat with only one mouthful (proverb)2. fig. any significant achievement requires time, effort and persistence
不作死就不会死 不作死就不會死 bù zuò sǐ jiù bù huì sǐ serves you right for doing sth so stupid (Internet slang)
不列颠哥伦比亚 不列顛哥倫比亞 bù liè diān gē lún bǐ yà British Columbia, Pacific province of Canada
不到火候不揭锅 不到火候不揭鍋 bù dào huǒ hòu bù jiē guō don't act until the time is ripe (idiom)
不可撤销信用证 不可撤銷信用證 bù kě chè xiāo xìn yòng zhèng irrevocable letter of credit
不完全归纳推理 不完全歸納推理 bù wán quán guī nà tuī lǐ inference by incomplete induction
不怕官，只怕管 bù pà guān , zhǐ pà guǎn 1. lit. it is not an official to be feared, but a person in direct control over sb (proverb)2. fig. to be obliged to comply with people in authority
it's better to make slow progress than no progress at all (proverb)
不患寡而患不均 bù huàn guǎ ér huàn bù jūn do not worry about scarcity, but rather about uneven distribution (idiom, from Analects)
不撞南墙不回头 不撞南牆不回頭 bù zhuàng nán qiáng bù huí tóu to stubbornly insist on one's own ideas (idiom)
不自由，毋宁死 不自由，毋寧死 bù zì yóu , wú nìng sǐ give me liberty or give me death
不蒸馒头争口气 不蒸饅頭爭口氣 bù zhēng mán tou zhēng kǒu qì 1. not to be crushed (idiom)2. to be determined to have one's revenge
不见兔子不撒鹰 不見兔子不撒鷹 bù jiàn tù zi bù sā yīng 1. you don't release the hawk until you've seen the hare (idiom)2. one doesn't act before one is sure to succeed
不见棺材不落泪 不見棺材不落淚 bù jiàn guān cai bù luò lèi 1. lit. not to shed a tear until one sees the coffin (idiom)2. fig. refuse to be convinced until one is faced with grim reality
也好不到哪里去 也好不到哪裡去 yě hǎo bù dào nǎ lǐ qù just as bad; not much better
干打雷，不下雨 乾打雷，不下雨 gān dǎ léi , bù xià yǔ 1. all thunder but no rain (idiom)2. a lot of noise but no action
人生何处不相逢 人生何處不相逢 rén shēng hé chù bù xiāng féng it's a small world (idiom)
偷鸡不成蚀把米 偷雞不成蝕把米 tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ 1. lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)2. fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off3. to go for wool and come back shorn
兔子尾巴长不了 兔子尾巴長不了 tù zi wěi ba cháng bu liǎo 1. rabbits don't have long tails (idiom)2. its days are numbered3. won't last long
两耳不闻窗外事 兩耳不聞窗外事 liǎng ěr bù wén chuāng wài shì to pay no attention to outside matters
再生不良性贫血 再生不良性貧血 zài shēng bù liáng xìng pín xuè aplastic anemia
冤家宜解不宜结 冤家宜解不宜結 yuān jiā yí jiě bù yí jié It is better to squash enmity rather than keeping it alive (proverb)
胜不骄，败不馁 勝不驕，敗不餒 shèng bù jiāo , bài bù něi no arrogance in victory, no despair in defeat