English Idioms & Proverbs and Their Chinese Equivalents

By orna taub

This book is particularly aimed at guiding English speakers to use the correct Chinese idiom or proverb to English ones and therefore enable them to speak correct Chinese and take theirexpression in Chinese to much higher level
While working on this book I realized that the wisdom and insights human beings gain in their lives are actually the same everywhere, although for many decades the connection between east and west was very limited..This is due to the fact that as human beings,the life experiences we all go through are in essence the same.the only difference is the different cultures,and this come into expression in the different ways the ideas are expressed.for example,since the Chinese culture is very much based on the natural world,there is a very wide use in allegories which are taken from concrete natural objects to express abstract ideas.There is a very little use of abstract terms in Chinese in general and in idioms and proverb in particular ,in contrast to the western way of expressionI hope the reader ,in addition to his aim to gain more language skills ,will also pay attention to this point and hence gain some insights in the Chinese culture

• Language: English
• Publisher: orna taub
• Release date: Nov 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311590992

orna taub

My name is Orna taub.I was born in Israel in1957.My big interesting in China and the Chinese language started after I graduated from Chinese medicine school in IsraelAnd complemented my study in another school of Chinese medicine to study two years Chinese herbs.One of my instructors was a native Chinese doctor who came from chengdu and only spoke Chinese.The meeting with him evoked in me a sudden and great attraction to China and a big passion to learn Chinese.I started to learn chinese by myself using textbooks.Gradually friendly relationships started to develop between me and my Chinese instructor ,and since he could only speak Chinese, I had no other choice but to break my teeth to speak Chinese with him. As I progressed in Chinese I started to help him in his everyday life communication and after a while also joined him to his patients homes to serve as a translator. Eventually I became his translator in his classes too.In the following years I continued to study by myself .After a few years I made my first trip to China and stayed in Chengdu (Sichuan province) for three months attending the Normal University and taking classes in Chinese language with other foreign students. During that time I spoke only Chinese and made great progress in my language studies.Since I came back to Israel and on I use every possible way to study Chinese and deepen my knowledge in the language.In the recent years I have taken one-on-one lessons using skype studying colloquial Chinese in advanced level with a native Chinese teacher from Beijing ,practice speaking with another teacher in chengdu and directly contact with Chinese native speakers friends by speaking and writing.Recently I graduated from the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) after 8 months of studying Chinese translation (1-1 lesson by skype), and got a certificate.After years of very diligent studying I decided to make use of my long time experience as a student and share my knowledge and insights with the worldwide mandarin students.Being a long time enthusiastic student myself let me experience the problems and difficulties of the mandarin student and my wish is to share the worldwide students with my knowledge and insights gained by my own efforts to overcome the difficulties and language issues I encountered. Till now I wrote several digital books for students which may be very beneficial for students who already have a basic knowledge in mandarin Chinese.I hope the mandarin student will be benefited from my books.

Book preview

English Idioms & Proverbs and Their Chinese Equivalents

Edition: Orna Taub

Preface

This book’s aim is to guide English speakers in using the correct Chinese idiom or proverb that is equivalent to the English idiom or proverb. Finding the correct English equivalent will therefore enable English speakers to speak correct Chinese and take their expressions in Chinese to a much higher level.

While working on this book, I realized that the wisdom and insights that human beings have gained in their lives are actually the same everywhere, even though for many decades the connection between the Eastern and Western Worlds was very limited. This is due to the fact that as human beings, the life experiences that we all go through are in essence the same. The only difference is the wide diversity in cultures and this becomes apparent in the different ways ideas are expressed. For example, since the Chinese culture is very much based on the natural world, there is a wide use in allegories which are taken from concrete natural objects to express abstract ideas. In general, there is very little use of abstract terms in Chinese, in particular in idioms and proverbs. This is in contrast to the Western way of expressing abstract ideas.

This book introduces the reader to a vast list of English idioms and proverbs arranged in alphabetical order with the Chinese equivalent right beside it.

This makes it very useful, convenient, and handy for the English speaker.

You don't need to know the Chinese characters. All the Chinese idioms are written in Latin letters and also include the Chinese characters.

I hope the reader, in addition to the goal of gaining more language skills, will also pay close attention to this point and therefore gain some insight into the Chinese culture. I also hope that this book will contribute to the ever-increasing interactions between the Western World and China.

Table of Contents

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X-Y-Z

A

At all costs

无论如何/不惜任何代价 wú lùn rú hé /bú xī rèn hé dài jià

Ants in one's pants

心猿意马/ 坐立难安 / 坐立不安 xīn yuán yì mǎ /zuò lì nán ān/ zuò lì bù ān

Actions speak louder than words.

行动胜于语言háng dòng shèng yú yǔ yán

An early bird

早起的人 zǎo qǐ de rén

A dead letter

一纸空文/一纸虚文。 yī zhǐ kōng