中国成语典故英文翻译演示教学

中国成语典故英文翻
译
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草绳 Once bitten, twice shy.
一言既出，驷马难追 A word spoken is past recalling.
一见钟情 to fall in love at first sight
一箭双雕/一举两得 Kill two birds with one stone.
一寸光阴一寸金 Time is money.
一失足成千古恨
The error committed on impulse may turn out to be the sorrow of a whole life.
一将功名万古枯 What millions died that Caesar might be great.
一年之计在于春，一日之计在于晨
Plan your year in spring and your day at dawn.
一人难称百人意 You cannot please everyone.
一气呵成 Never make two bites of a cherry.
九死一生 to have a hair-breadth escape
九牛一毛 a drop in the bucket
人生如梦 Life is but a dream.
人生自古谁无死 Death comes to all men.
人不可貌相 Appearances are often deceptive./ Never judge a book by its cover. 人山人海 a sea of faces：How many people are there in the stadium? Believe it or not, a sea of faces.
人云亦云 echo others' words
人面兽心 a wolf in sheep's clothing
人言可畏 Opinion rules the world
十年风水轮流转 Every dog has its day.
十全十美 leave nothing to be desired
十拿九稳 win something in the bag.
十万火急 in hot haste
力不从心 my spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak
力挽狂澜 try to stem the tide
入乡随俗 Do in Rome as the Romans do.
七上八下 to be sixes and sevens
八面玲珑 smooth and able to win favour on all sides
千载难逢 It only happens once in a blue moon.
大言不惭 blow your own trumpet
大智若愚 He who cannot play the fool is not a wise man.
大海捞针 needle in a haystack
山穷水尽 at the end of one's resources
山中无老虎，猴子称大王
Among the blind the one-eyed is king./When the cat's away, the mice will pay.
小洞不补，大来吃苦 A stitch in time saves nine.
亡羊补牢 Better late than never./ It's never too late to mend.
口是心非 Speak with one's tongue in his cheek
不畏艰难 Take the bull by the horns.
不战而屈人之兵 The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. 不胜其烦 a pain in the neck
1. 鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利
这个成语我们可以翻译成：a quarrel which benefits only a third party
或者借用英语中一句相应的俗语：When shepherds quarrel, the wolf has a winning game。

这句俗语翻译成中文，也有“螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后”的意思。

借用英语中的固定表达法来翻译成语，是一个很好的方法，同学们要记得平时多多积累这方面的知识哦。

当然，在不怎么正式的场合，这个成语我们也可以简单翻译成：Two dogs strive for a bone, and a third runs away with it。

2. 画蛇添足
同样，这个成语也可以借用英语中现成的表达法：gild the lily，给百合花镀金，当然就是画蛇添足的意思啦。

3. 狡兔三窟
狡猾的兔子准备好几个藏身的窝。

A crafty person has more than one hideout.
4. 三人成虎
这个成语出自一个典故，意为当很多人都以讹传讹的时候，谎言也就成了真理。

可以翻译成：A lie, if repeated often enough, will be accepted as truth.
5. 狐假虎威
肯尼迪总统曾在自己的讲话中引用这个成语，他说的是：to seek power by riding the back of the tiger。