"(literary) one's mother" Chinese-English Dictionary

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Chinese Pinyin Translation Actions
shì (bound form) to rely on / (literary) one's mother syn
Chinese Pinyin Translation Actions
姨婆 yí pó (strictly speaking) sister of one's maternal grandmother / (more broadly) grandaunt / sister of one's mother's mother or mother's father / (Tw) (old) husband's maternal aunt syn
rǎng (literary) to push up one's sleeves / (literary) to reject / to resist / (literary) to seize / to steal / (literary) to perturb / Taiwan pr. [rang2] syn
泰水 tài shuǐ (literary) mother-in-law / wife's mother
zhì (literary) salary according to rank / (literary) an official's rank / (literary) order / orderliness / (literary) decade syn
(literary) king / monarch / (literary) (of a sovereign) to summon to official service / (literary) to avoid (variant of 避[bi4]) / (literary) to repel (variant of 避[bi4]) syn
輿 (literary) chassis of a carriage (contrasted with the canopy 堪[kan1]) / (literary) (fig.) the earth (while the carriage canopy is a metaphor for heaven) / land / territory / (literary) carriage / (literary) sedan chair / palanquin / (bound form) the multitudes / the people / the public syn
(literary) small child / (literary) limit / bound / extremity / (literary) to differentiate / (literary) origin / cause
làng (literary) vast / spacious / (literary) lofty / (literary) tall door / (literary) dry moat outside a city wall
硙硙 磑磑 ái ái (literary) lofty / towering / (literary) glistening white / (literary) hard / solid / (literary) piled up
大姨 dà yí aunt (mother's eldest sister) / (respectful term of address for a woman who is about the age of one's mother) syn
大姨妈 大姨媽 dà yí mā mother's eldest sister (older than one's mother) / (coll.) (euphemism) Aunt Flo (i.e. menstrual period)
亲妈 親媽 qīn mā one's own mother / biological mother
端起碗吃肉,放下筷子骂娘 端起碗吃肉,放下筷子罵娘 duān qǐ wǎn chī ròu , fàng xià kuài zi mà niáng lit. to eat meat from one's bowl, then put down one's chopsticks and scold one's mother (idiom) / fig. to complain despite being privileged / to be ungrateful for what one has been given
婆婆 pó po husband's mother / mother-in-law / grandma syn
外婆 wài pó (coll.) mother's mother / maternal grandmother syn
娘娘 niáng niang queen / empress / imperial concubine / Goddess, esp. Xi Wangmu 王母娘娘 or 西王母, Queen Mother of the West / mother / aunt syn
母女 mǔ nǚ mother and daughter / mother-daughter
姥姥 lǎo lao (coll.) mother's mother / maternal grandmother syn
岳母 yuè mǔ wife's mother, mother-in-law syn
丈母娘 zhàng mǔ niáng wife's mother / mother-in-law syn
生母 shēng mǔ natural mother / birth mother syn
养母 養母 yǎng mǔ foster mother / adoptive mother syn
外祖母 wài zǔ mǔ mother's mother / maternal grandmother syn
姨夫 yí fu mother's sister's husband / husband of mother's sister syn
姨丈 yí zhàng mother's sister's husband / husband of mother's sister syn
丈母 zhàng mǔ wife's mother / mother-in-law syn
姨姥姥 yí lǎo lao mother's mother's sister / great-aunt
苏丹解放运动母亲派 蘇丹解放運動母親派 Sudan Liberation Movement-Mother / SLM-Mother
抱头 抱頭 bào tóu to put one's hands behind one's head, fingers interlaced / to hold one's head in one's hands (in dismay, fright etc) / to cover one's head with one's hands (for protection)
斐然 fěi rán (literary) of great literary talent / (literary) (of achievements etc) brilliant / outstanding syn
婵娟 嬋娟 chán juān (literary) beautiful woman / (literary) lovely / graceful / (literary) the moon syn
(prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4-liu4] "sixth") / (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed / (old) residence of a high official / (literary) but / however / (literary) only / just syn
(literary) bridle / halter / headstall / to rein in / to compel / to force / (literary) to carve / to engrave / (literary) to command / to lead (an army etc) / (physics) lux (abbr. for 勒克斯[le4ke4si1]) syn
(literary) all / both / entirely / without exception / (literary) to be together / (literary) to be alike syn
liáo (coll.) to chat / (literary) temporarily / for a while / (literary) somewhat / slightly / (literary) to depend upon syn
(literary) to expect / to anticipate / (literary) to be concerned about / to be apprehensive / (literary) to deceive / to dupe syn
(literary) to have tender affection for / (literary) discouraged / disappointed / (literary) startled
sōu (literary) madder (Rubia cordifolia) / (literary) to hunt, esp. in spring / (literary) to gather / to collect
婵媛 嬋媛 chán yuán (literary) (of a woman) graceful / (literary) to be interwoven / (literary) to be emotionally involved
guǐ (literary) perverse / unreasonable / (literary) eccentric / enigmatic / (literary) by chance / all of a sudden
(literary) to plaster / (literary) to pick up / (literary) to rest
shì (literary) majestic / magnificent / (literary) rich, deep red / (literary) angry / furious
庶几 庶幾 shù jī (literary) similar / almost / (literary) if only / it is to be hoped that / (literary) maybe / perhaps syn
失恃 shī shì to lose sb one relies upon / to lose one's mother
拜认 拜認 bài rèn to formally accept sb as (one's adoptive mother, one's master etc)
有奶便是娘 yǒu nǎi biàn shì niáng lit. whoever provides milk is your mother (idiom) / fig. to follow whoever is feeding you / to put one's loyalties where one's interests lie
竖起 豎起 shù qǐ to erect (a tent etc) / to prick up (one's ears) / to raise (one's eyebrows) / to stick up (one's thumb) / to turn up (one's collar) / (of a bird) to puff up (one's feathers) syn
本分 běn fèn (to play) one's part / one's role / one's duty / (to stay within) one's bounds / dutiful / keeping to one's role syn
改口 gǎi kǒu to change one's tune / to modify one's previous remark / to change the way one addresses sb (as when one marries and starts to call one's husband's parents 爸爸[ba4 ba5] and 媽媽|妈妈[ma1 ma5]) syn
虚岁 虛歲 xū suì one's age, according to the traditional Chinese method of reckoning (i.e. the number of Chinese calendar years in which one has lived) – In this system, a person's age at birth is one, and increases by one at the beginning of the first solar term 立春[Li4 chun1] each year, rather than on one's birthday. / contrasted with 實歲|实岁[shi2 sui4]
百胜难虑敌,三折乃良医 百勝難慮敵,三折乃良醫 bǎi shèng nán lǜ dí , sān zhé nǎi liáng yī (a line from a poem by the Tang poet Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫|刘禹锡[Liu2 Yu3 xi1]) one gains very little insight into one's enemy from a hundred victories, but he who breaks his arm three times will be a good doctor / (fig.) one learns more from one's failures than from one's successes
paternal aunt / husband's sister / husband's mother (old) / nun / for the time being (literary) syn
先妣 xiān bǐ (literary) my late mother
先慈 xiān cí (literary) my late mother
先母 xiān mǔ (literary) my late mother
所见 所見 suǒ jiàn (literary) what one sees / (literary) opinion / view
shè (bound form) to take in / to absorb / to assimilate / to capture (video or still images) / (literary) to conserve (one's health) / (literary) to act for syn
xīng (literary) to come to one's senses / to awaken / (literary) astute / sharp-witted
失道 shī dào (literary) to lose one's way / to get lost / (literary) to stray from the proper course
安得 ān dé (literary) How can one get...? / Oh, if only there were... (rhetorical wish) / (literary) Is it possible that...? / How can this be? (interrogative disbelief)
阿姨 ā yí maternal aunt / step-mother / childcare worker / nursemaid / woman of similar age to one's parents (term of address used by child) / CL:個|个[ge4] syn
伯母 bó mǔ wife of father's elder brother / aunt / (polite form of address for a woman who is about the age of one's mother) / CL:個|个[ge4] syn
六亲 六親 liù qīn six close relatives, namely: father 父[fu4], mother 母[mu3], older brothers 兄[xiong1], younger brothers 弟[di4], wife 妻[qi1], male children 子[zi3] / one's kin syn
画荻教子 畫荻教子 huà dí jiào zǐ to write on the sand with reeds while teaching one's son (idiom) / mother's admirable dedication to her children's education
慈颜 慈顏 cí yán one's mother's loving face
媳妇熬成婆 媳婦熬成婆 xí fù áo chéng pó lit. even a submissive daughter-in-law will one day become a domineering mother-in-law (idiom) / fig. the oppressed will become the oppressor / what goes around comes around
母丧 母喪 mǔ sāng the death of one's mother
子母 zǐ mǔ mother and son / interest and capital / combination of a large object and a smaller one of the same type
只有 zhǐ yǒu only have ... / there is only ... / (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if one ... (that one can ...) (Example: 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 quan2 yu4] "the only way to cure it is with therapy") / it is only ... (who ...) (Example: 只有男性才有此需要[zhi3 you3 nan2 xing4 cai2 you3 ci3 xu1 yao4] "only men would have such a requirement") / (used to indicate that one has no alternative) one can only (do a certain thing) (Example: 只有屈服[zhi3 you3 qu1 fu2] "the only thing you can do is give in") syn
归属 歸屬 guī shǔ to belong to / to be affiliated to / to fall under the jurisdiction of / a place where one feels that one belongs / one's final destination (where one need look no further) syn
上头 上頭 shàng tóu (of alcohol, love etc) to go to one’s head / (of an idea, a song etc) to get into one's head / to capture one's attention / (old) (of a girl on her wedding day) to start wearing one's hair in a bun (rather than a plait) syn
量力而行 liàng lì ér xíng to assess one's capabilities and act accordingly (idiom) / to act within one's competence / One does what one can.
望子成龙 望子成龍 wàng zǐ chéng lóng lit. to hope one's son becomes a dragon (idiom) / fig. to long for one' s child to succeed in life / to have great hopes for one's offspring / to give one's child the best education as a career investment syn
孝悌忠信 xiào tì zhōng xìn Confucian moral injunctions of fidelity / piety to one's parents, respect to one's older brother, loyalty to one's monarch, faith to one's male friends
戴盆望天 dài pén wàng tiān lit. viewing the sky with a basin on one's head / it is hard to get a clear view of the sky while carrying a platter on one's head / fig. it is hard to get on in one's career while encumbered by family obligations / one can't perform a major task while bothered by other duties syn
量力而为 量力而為 liàng lì ér wéi to weigh one's abilities and act accordingly / to act according to one's means / to cut one's coat according to one's cloth
一个个 一個個 yī gè gè a number of / each and every one / one by one / one after another
一一映射 yī yī yìng shè bijective map (i.e. map between sets in math. that is one-to-one and onto) / one-to-one correspondence
四德 sì dé four Confucian injunctions 孝悌忠信 (for men), namely: piety 孝 to one's parents, respect 悌 to one's older brother, loyalty 忠 to one's monarch, faith 信 to one's male friends / the four Confucian virtues for women of morality 德[de2], physical charm 容, propriety in speech 言 and efficiency in needlework 功
深藏若虚 深藏若虛 shēn cáng ruò xū to hide one's treasure away so that no-one knows about it (idiom) / fig. modest about one's talents / to hide one's light under a bushel syn
道高一尺,魔高一丈 dào gāo yī chǐ , mó gāo yī zhàng (idiom) as one climbs higher on the path of righteousness, one faces ever greater challenges from evil / no sooner does one overcome one obstacle than another arises
鞠躬尽瘁,死而后已 鞠躬盡瘁,死而後已 jū gōng jìn cuì , sǐ ér hòu yǐ to bend to a task and spare no effort unto one's dying day (idiom) / striving to the utmost one's whole life / with every breath in one's body, unto one's dying day
一村一品 yī cūn yī pǐn One Village One Product / One Village One Product Movement
剃头挑子一头热 剃頭挑子一頭熱 tì tóu tiāo zi yī tóu rè lit. only one end of the barber's pole is hot (idiom) / fig. one-sided enthusiasm / one party is interested, but the other, not so much / (Note: In former days, street barbers carried their equipment on a pole, with tools and a stool at one end and a brazier at the other.)
屁股决定脑袋 屁股決定腦袋 pì gu jué dìng nǎo dai lit. the butt governs the head (idiom) / fig. where one stands depends on where one sits / one's views are shaped by one's circumstances
背着抱着一般重 bēi zhe bào zhe yī bān zhòng lit. whether one carries it on one's back or in one's arms, it's equally heavy (idiom) / fig. one can't avoid the burden
一对一 一對一 yī duì yī one-to-one / one-on-one syn
束发 束髮 shù fà to tie up one's hair / (literary) (of a boy) to be in one's adolescence (in ancient China, boys tied up their hair)
行状 行狀 xíng zhuàng (literary) brief obituary / one's past experience / one's past record / Taiwan pr. [xing4 zhuang4] syn
舞文弄墨 wǔ wén nòng mò (idiom) to display one's facility with words / to show off one's literary skills / (original meaning) to pervert the law by playing with legal phraseology (墨[mo4] was a reference to 繩墨|绳墨[sheng2 mo4]) syn
夸多斗靡 誇多鬥靡 kuā duō - dòu mǐ (idiom) to use literary phrases in one's writing to show off one's erudition
朦胧 朦朧 méng lóng (literary) (of moonlight) dim / (literary) murky / indistinct syn
文体 文體 wén tǐ genre of writing / literary form / style / literary recreation and sporting activities
烟火 煙火 yān huǒ smoke and fire / cooked food / (literary) beacon fire / (literary) descendants / posterity syn
窈窕 yǎo tiǎo (literary) (of a woman) graceful and refined / comely / (esp.) slender / slim / (literary) (of a bower, a mountain stream or a boudoir within a palace etc) secluded syn
达人 達人 dá rén (coll.) expert / connoisseur / guru / enthusiast / geek (influenced by Japanese 達人 "tatsujin" c. 2000) / (literary) sensible person / person who understands life / (literary) optimist
文采 wén cǎi literary talent / literary grace / rich and bright colors syn
踌躇 躊躇 chóu chú to hesitate / (literary) to pace back and forth / (literary) self-satisfied syn
他日 tā rì (literary) some day / (literary) days in the past syn
The four tones The four tones of Mandarin Pitch over time: tone 1 high and level (red), tone 2 rising (orange), tone 3 falling then rising (green), tone 4 falling (blue). tone 1 tone 2 tone 3 tone 4 Time Pitch

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