有意栽花花不发，无心插柳柳成阴 有意栽花花不發，無心插柳柳成陰 yǒu yì zāi huā huā bù fā , wú xīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yīn lit. you plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree / fig. things do not always turn out as one would expect / well-laid plans may fail, and success may come where you least expect it 秩 zhì (literary) salary according to rank / (literary) an official's rank / (literary) order / orderliness / (literary) decade syn 辟 bì (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 舆 輿 yú (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 倪 ní (literary) small child / (literary) limit / bound / extremity / (literary) to differentiate / (literary) origin / cause 攘 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 阆 閬 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 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 第 dì (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 勒 lè (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 俱 jù (literary) all / both / entirely / without exception / (literary) to be together / (literary) to be alike syn 聊 liáo (coll.) to chat / (literary) temporarily / for a while / (literary) somewhat / slightly / (literary) to depend upon syn 怃 憮 wǔ (literary) to have tender affection for / (literary) discouraged / disappointed / (literary) startled 蒐 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 佹 guǐ (literary) perverse / unreasonable / (literary) eccentric / enigmatic / (literary) by chance / all of a sudden 塈 jì (literary) to plaster / (literary) to pick up / (literary) to rest 奭 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 没想到 沒想到 méi xiǎng dào didn't expect 预期 預期 yù qī to expect / to anticipate syn 倒是 dào shi contrary to what one might expect / actually / contrariwise / why don't you syn 意料 yì liào to anticipate / to expect / expectations syn 期盼 qī pàn to expect / to await syn 守候 shǒu hòu to wait for / to expect / to keep watch / to watch over / to nurse syn 算计 算計 suàn ji to reckon / to calculate / to plan / to expect / to scheme syn 预想 預想 yù xiǎng to anticipate / to expect syn 企盼 qǐ pàn to expect / to look forward to / anxious for sth / to hope (to get sth) syn 料想 liào xiǎng to expect / to presume / to think (sth is likely) syn 期许 期許 qī xǔ to hope / to expect / expectation(s) 意 yì idea / meaning / thought / to think / wish / desire / intention / to expect / to anticipate syn 一步登天 yī bù dēng tiān reaching heaven in a single bound (idiom) / (esp. with negative: don't expect) instant success syn 料 liào material / stuff / grain / feed / to expect / to anticipate / to guess syn 倒 dào to invert / to place upside down or frontside back / to pour out / to tip out / to dump / inverted / upside down / reversed / to go backward / contrary to what one might expect / but / yet syn 谅 諒 liàng to show understanding / to excuse / to presume / to expect syn 盼 pàn to hope for / to long for / to expect syn 水至清则无鱼 水至清則無魚 shuǐ zhì qīng zé wú yú Water that is too clear has few fish, and one who is too critical has few friends (idiom) / You cannot expect everyone to be squeaky clean. / Don't be too picky! 翘足而待 翹足而待 qiáo zú ér dài to expect in a short time (idiom) / also pr. [qiao4 zu2 er2 dai4] 狗嘴里吐不出象牙 狗嘴裏吐不出象牙 gǒu zuǐ li tǔ bù chū xiàng yá lit. no ivory comes from the mouth of a dog (idiom) / fig. one does not expect fine words from a scoundrel 承望 chéng wàng to expect (often in negative combination, I never expected...) / to look forward to syn 未料 wèi liào to not anticipate / to not expect / unanticipated / unexpected 病来如山倒，病去如抽丝 病來如山倒，病去如抽絲 bìng lái rú shān dǎo , bìng qù rú chōu sī sickness comes like a landslide, but goes slowly like spinning silk (idiom) / expect to convalesce slowly 立杆见影 立杆見影 lì gān jiàn yǐng lit. put up a pole and see the shadow (idiom) / to expect instant results 跂想 qǐ xiǎng to expect anxiously 又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草 又要馬兒跑，又要馬兒不吃草 yòu yào mǎ r pǎo , yòu yào mǎ r bù chī cǎo lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom) / fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too 看贬 看貶 kàn biǎn to expect (a currency etc) to depreciate 想当然尔 想當然爾 xiǎng dāng rán ěr to take sth as given / to assume / as one would expect / naturally 基操 jī cāo (slang) the norm / typical behavior / nothing out of the ordinary / just what you’d expect (often used ironically) (abbr. for 基本操作[ji1ben3 cao1zuo4]) 承想 chéng xiǎng (often used in the negative) to anticipate / to expect / to think that sth would happen 朦胧 朦朧 méng lóng (literary) (of moonlight) dim / (literary) murky / indistinct syn 所见 所見 suǒ jiàn (literary) what one sees / (literary) opinion / view 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 眉宇 méi yǔ (literary) forehead / (literary) countenance / features syn 污秽 污穢 wū huì (literary) dirty / filthy / (literary) dirt / filth syn 东瀛 東瀛 dōng yíng (literary) East China Sea / (literary) Japan syn 名士 míng shì (old) a person of literary talent / a celebrity (esp. a distinguished literary person having no official post) syn 先祖 xiān zǔ (literary) my deceased grandfather / (literary) ancestors syn 惺惺 xīng xīng (literary) awake / (literary) intelligent / clever 顾盼 顧盼 gù pàn (literary) to look around / (literary) to care for syn 惺忪 xīng sōng drowsy-eyed / (literary) wavering / indecisive / (literary) awake / conscious / clearheaded syn 周章 zhōu zhāng (literary) effort / trouble / pains (to get sth done) / (literary) frightened / terrified 彪炳 biāo bǐng (literary) (of deeds, accomplishments etc) to shine brightly (in the annals of history etc) / (literary) outstanding / splendid / glorious 则 則 zé (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but / then / (bound form) standard / norm / (bound form) principle / (literary) to imitate / to follow / classifier for written items syn 整饬 整飭 zhěng chì (literary) to put in good order / to make shipshape / (literary) orderly / neat / tidy syn 睚眦 睚眥 yá zì (literary) to glare in anger / (literary) (fig.) a small grievance syn 羁旅 羈旅 jī lǚ (literary) to stay long in a place far from home / (literary) person who lives in an alien land 殊 shū (literary) to kill / to behead / to sever / to separate / to surpass / (bound form) different / (bound form) special / remarkable / (literary) very / extremely syn 摄 攝 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 柯 kē (literary) branch / stem / stalk / (literary) ax handle syn 骚 騷 sāo (bound form) to disturb / to disrupt / flirty / coquettish / abbr. for 離騷|离骚[Li2 Sao1] / (literary) literary writings / poetry / foul-smelling (variant of 臊[sao1]) / (dialect) (of certain domestic animals) male syn 詹 zhān (literary) verbose / (literary) to arrive, to reach 诡 詭 guǐ (bound form) sly / crafty / (literary) weird / bizarre / (literary) contradictory / inconsistent syn 藉 jiè (literary) cushion / mat / (literary) to put some padding underneath syn 裔 yì (bound form) descendants / (bound form) of ... ancestry (as in 華裔|华裔[Hua2yi4] "of Chinese descent") / (literary) distant lands / (literary) fringe / periphery syn 苑 yuàn (literary) enclosed area for growing trees, keeping animals etc / imperial garden / park / (literary) center (of arts, literature etc) syn 眩 xuàn (literary) dizzy / (literary) dazzled / bewildered / to dazzle (variant of 炫[xuan4]) syn 敛 斂 liǎn (literary) to hold back / (literary) to restrain / to control (oneself) / to collect / to gather / Taiwan pr. [lian4] syn 斐 fěi phonetic fei or fi / (literary) (bound form) rich with literary elegance / phi (Greek letter Φφ) 瑛 yīng (literary) translucent stone similar to jade / (literary) luster of jade 颐 頤 yí (literary) chin / jaw / (literary) to foster / to nurture / to protect syn 殆 dài (literary) dangerous / perilous / (literary) almost / well-nigh syn 匡 kuāng (literary) to rectify / (literary) to assist / (coll.) to calculate roughly / to estimate syn 惺 xīng (literary) to come to one's senses / to awaken / (literary) astute / sharp-witted 盎 àng (literary) ancient earthenware container with a big belly and small mouth / (literary) brimming / abundant 湮 yān (literary) to sink into oblivion / (literary) to silt up / Taiwan pr. [yin1] 庋 guǐ (literary) shelf / (literary) to store / to keep / to preserve 缥 縹 piǎo (literary) light blue / (literary) light blue silk fabric 钜 鉅 jù (literary) hard iron / (literary) hook / barb / used in personal names and place names / variant of 巨[ju4] 稔 rěn (literary) ripe grain / ripe / harvest / year / (literary) very familiar with / well acquainted with syn 赍 齎 jī (literary) to harbor (a feeling) / (literary) to present as a gift syn 杓 biāo (literary) handle of a spoon or ladle / (literary) collective name for the three stars that form the handle of the Big Dipper 