中英习语谚语等对比

英汉语成语、习语、俗语的比较与翻译

Lead up:

The Pure Brightness Day; All Soul s’Day; The Clear-and-Bright Feast; the Rainy Season of Spring; the Tomb-visiting Day; The Mourning Day

吴钧陶译 The Pure Brightness Day

It drizzles thick on the Pure Brightness Day;

I travel with my heart lost in dismay.

Is there a public house somewhere, cowboy?

He points at Apricot Bloom Village far away.

杨宪益、戴乃迭译：In the Rainy Season of Spring

It drizzles endless during the rainy season in spring,

Travelers along the road look gloomy and miserable.

When I ask a shepherd boy where I can find a tavern,

He points at a distant hamlet nestling amidst apricot blossoms.

许渊冲译 The Mourning Day

A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;

The mourner's heart is going to break on his way.

Where can a wineshop be found to drown his sad hours?

A cowherd points to a cot 'mid apricot flowers.

一．例句

1.to kill two birds with one stone

2.to flog a dead horse；do sth in vain; make futile efforts鞭打死马；白费力气

3. a drop in a bucket 沧海一粟；太仓一粟；九牛一毛；微不足道；微乎其微；不足挂齿

4.to teach a pig to play on a flute 教猪吹笛；对牛弹琴；

5.过街老鼠

（直译）like a rat crossing the street

(意译) the object of universal condemnation; a bad man hated by everybody

6.门庭若市

(直译) the courtyard is like a market.

（意译）a much visited house; a busy town; bustling; crowded

7.望梅止渴

（直译）to gaze at plums to quench one’s thirst

（意译）to console oneself with false hopes; to feed on fancies (illusion); imagined satisfaction; a Barmecide （《一千零一夜》中一个口惠而实不至的人物）feast.

8.危如累卵

（直译）as dangerous as a pile of eggs

（意译）hazardous in the extreme; great insecurity; in a precarious condition; at stake, at risk; at hazard; in peril; in danger; perilous; risky; critical...

9. A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.

（直译）点头也好，眨眼也好，示意盲马，同样无效。

（意译）犟汉难劝，狂人难喻。

10.The worst wheel of a cart creaks most.

（直译）最坏的车轮最会嘎吱响。

（意译）能猫不叫，叫猫不能。

11.A creaky wheel gets the oil.

（直译）嘎吱响的轮子有润滑油。

（意译）会哭的孩子有奶吃。

12.山雨欲来风满楼

（直译）The wind sweeping through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountains.

（意译）A turbulent situation foretells a big event; Coming events cast their shadows before. 13.树倒猢狲散

（直译）When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.

（意译）Members run away when the family (constitution) falls; when an influential person falls from power, his hangers-on dispers; Rats leave a sinking ship.

14.hand in glove with 狼狈为奸

15.once in a blue moon千载难逢

16.at sixes and sevens 乱七八糟

17.招风惹草look for trouble

18.it is a long lane that has no turning好事多磨

19.It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest. 家丑不可外扬

如下成语：

20.cut in a joke 插科打诨

21.speak one’s mind 畅所欲言

22.be after one’s own heart; to one’ s heart’s content称心如意

23.at one’s finger-tips 了如指掌

24.fish in troubled waters 浑水摸鱼

25.in deep water水深火热

26.turn up one’s nose at 嗤之以鼻

27.skin and bones 皮包骨头

28.touch and go 一触即发

29.from the cradle to the grave一生一世；从生到死

30.hit the nail on the head 一语道破

31.充耳不闻turn a deaf ear to

32.出人头地be head and shoulders above others

33.吹毛求疵pick a hole in one’s coat

34.破釜沉舟burn one’s boat

35.大惊小怪make a fuss about

36.大海捞针look for a needle in a bundle of hay

37.颠倒黑白talk black into white

38.得意忘形have one’s nose in the air

39.攀龙附凤worship the rising sun