"a can" Chinese-English Dictionary

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Chinese Pinyin Translation Actions
tīng to listen to / to hear / to heed / to obey / a can (loanword from English "tin") / classifier for canned beverages / to let be / to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]) / (literary) to administer / to deal with (Taiwan pr. [ting4]) syn
Chinese Pinyin Translation Actions
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
不得不 bù dé bù have no choice or option but to / cannot but / have to / can't help it / can't avoid syn
能否 néng fǒu whether or not / can it or can't it / is it possible? syn
来得及 來得及 lái de jí to have enough time / can do it in time / can still make it syn
垃圾桶 lā jī tǒng rubbish bin / trash can / garbage can / Taiwan pr. [le4 se4 tong3] syn
垃圾箱 lā jī xiāng rubbish can / garbage can / trash can syn
不禁 bù jīn can't help (doing sth) / can't refrain from syn
即可 jí kě equivalent to 就可以 / can then (do sth) / can immediately (do sth) / (do sth) and that will suffice
禁不住 jīn bu zhù can't help it / can't bear it syn
过得去 過得去 guò dé qù lit. can pass through (an opening) / fig. can get by (in life) / tolerably well / not too bad / How are you getting by? / How's life? syn
堪称 堪稱 kān chēng can be rated as / can be said to be
易拉罐 yì lā guàn pull-top can / easy-open can (with ring-pull)
可歌可泣 kě gē kě qì lit. you can sing or you can cry (idiom) / fig. deeply moving / happy and sad / inspiring and tragic syn
能不能 néng bù néng can or cannot? / Is it possible? / Can we do it?
均可 jūn kě all are OK / both are OK / all can / both can / also can
可达 可達 kě dá can reach / can get as high as / up to
赶不上 趕不上 gǎn bù shàng can't keep up with / can't catch up with / cannot overtake
办不到 辦不到 bàn bu dào impossible / can't be done / no can do / unable to accomplish syn
摸不着 摸不著 mō bu zháo can't touch / can't reach / (fig.) unable to get a grasp of
可遇不可求 kě yù bù kě qiú can be discovered but not sought (idiom) / one can only come across such things serendipitously
人不可貌相 rén bù kě mào xiàng you can't judge a person by appearance (idiom) / you can't judge a book by its cover / often in combination 人不可貌相,海水不可斗量[ren2 bu4 ke3 mao4 xiang4 , hai3 shui3 bu4 ke3 dou3 liang2]
饥不择食 飢不擇食 jī bù zé shí when hungry, you can't pick what you eat (idiom) / beggars can't be choosers / When matters are urgent, don't spend time choosing alternatives. syn
鱼与熊掌 魚與熊掌 yú yǔ xióng zhǎng lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius) / fig. you must choose one or the other / you can't always get everything you want / you can't have your cake and eat it
huì can / to have the skill / to know how to / to be likely to / to be sure to / to meet / to get together / meeting / gathering / (suffix) union / group / association / (bound form) a moment (Taiwan pr. [hui3]) syn
néng can / to be able to / might possibly / ability / (physics) energy syn
可以 kě yǐ can / may / possible / able to / not bad / pretty good syn
(prefix) can / may / able to / -able / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very / but / however syn
那个 那個 nà ge that one / that thing / that (as opposed to this) / (used before a verb or adjective for emphasis) / (used to humorously or indirectly refer to sth embarrassing, funny etc, or when one can't think of the right word) / (used in speech as a filler, similar to "umm", "you know" etc) / (euph.) menstruation / sex / also pr. [nei4 ge5] syn
哪儿 哪兒 nǎ r where? / wherever / anywhere / somewhere / (used in rhetorical questions) how can ...? / how could ...? syn
能够 能夠 néng gòu to be capable of / to be able to / can syn
只能 zhǐ néng can only / obliged to do sth / to have no other choice syn
不许 不許 bù xǔ not to allow / must not / can't syn
受不了 shòu bù liǎo unbearable / unable to endure / can't stand syn
说不定 說不定 shuō bu dìng can't say for sure / maybe syn
决不 決不 jué bù not at all / simply (can) not syn
感冒 gǎn mào to catch cold / (common) cold / CL:場|场[chang2],次[ci4] / (coll.) to be interested in (often used in the negative) / (Tw) to detest / can't stand syn
按钮 按鈕 àn niǔ to push a button / button (one that can be pressed to trigger an action)
没错 沒錯 méi cuò that's right / sure! / rest assured! / that's good / can't go wrong syn
海选 海選 hǎi xuǎn (in elections for village committees in the PRC since the 1990s) unrestricted nomination, a type of election where 1. everyone in the community is eligible to nominate somebody 2. voting is done by writing the name of one's nominee on the ballot, and 3. one's nominee can be anyone in the community (Nominees who receive the highest number of votes may be thereby elected or, more often, presented as the candidates in a further round of voting.) / (in other contexts) selection of the best contender in a process open to all comers / (in the entertainment industry) open audition
好比 hǎo bǐ to be just like / can be compared to syn
得以 dé yǐ able to / so that sb can / enabling / in order to / finally in a position to / with sth in view syn
罐头 罐頭 guàn tou tin / can / CL:個|个[ge4] syn
把柄 bǎ bǐng handle / (fig.) information that can be used against sb syn
比不上 bǐ bù shàng can't compare with syn
奋力 奮力 fèn lì to do everything one can / to spare no effort / to strive syn
看得见 看得見 kàn dé jiàn can see / visible
无可 無可 wú kě can't
橱柜 櫥櫃 chú guì cupboard / cupboard that can also be used as a table / sideboard syn
莫非 mò fēi can it be possible that / could it be syn
未免 wèi miǎn unavoidably / can't help / really / rather syn
水壶 水壺 shuǐ hú kettle / canteen / watering can
应有尽有 應有盡有 yīng yǒu jìn yǒu everything that should be here is here (idiom) / all one can think of is on hand / to have all one needs syn
忍无可忍 忍無可忍 rěn wú kě rěn more than one can bear (idiom) / at the end of one's patience / the last straw
可见 可見 kě jiàn it can clearly be seen (that this is the case) / it is (thus) clear / clear / visible syn
称得上 稱得上 chēng de shàng can be counted as
不成 bù chéng won't do / unable to / (at the end of a rhetorical question) can that be? syn
不由自主 bù yóu zì zhǔ (idiom) can't help but / involuntarily syn
莫过于 莫過於 mò guò yú nothing can surpass syn
亲密无间 親密無間 qīn mì wú jiān close relation, no gap (idiom) / intimate and nothing can come between syn
酒量 jiǔ liàng capacity for liquor / how much one can drink
难保 難保 nán bǎo hard to say / can't guarantee / difficult to protect / difficult to preserve syn
大相径庭 大相徑庭 dà xiāng jìng tíng as different as can be (idiom) / poles apart syn
经不起 經不起 jīng bu qǐ can't stand it / to be unable to bear / to be unable to resist syn
曾几何时 曾幾何時 céng jǐ hé shí just a while before / not so long ago / everyone can remember when.. syn
不由 bù yóu can't help (doing sth)
免不了 miǎn bù liǎo unavoidable / can't be avoided syn
明月 míng yuè bright moon / refers to 夜明珠, a legendary pearl that can glow in the dark / CL:輪|轮[lun2] syn
驾轻就熟 駕輕就熟 jià qīng jiù shú lit. an easy drive on a familiar path (idiom) / fig. experience makes progress easy / a task that is so familiar one can do it with one's hand tied behind one's back syn
容身 róng shēn to find a place where one can fit in / to make one's home / to seek shelter syn
漫天 màn tiān lit. to fill the whole sky / everywhere / as far as the eye can see syn
力争 力爭 lì zhēng to work hard for / to do all one can / to contend strongly syn
可想而知 kě xiǎng ér zhī (idiom) (it) goes without saying / can well be imagined
凉拌 涼拌 liáng bàn to dress cold food with sauce / (slang) there's not much you can do about it (wordplay using 拌[ban4] instead of its homophone 辦|办[ban4])
能说会道 能說會道 néng shuō huì dào can talk really well (idiom) / the gift of the gab syn
一望无际 一望無際 yī wàng wú jì as far as the eye can see (idiom) syn
有机可乘 有機可乘 yǒu jī kě chéng to have an opportunity that one can exploit (idiom) syn
有目共睹 yǒu mù gòng dǔ anyone with eyes can see it (idiom) / obvious to all / sth speaks for itself / is there for all to see syn
谱写 譜寫 pǔ xiě to compose (a piece of music) / (fig.) to create, by one's actions, a narrative (generally one that can be recounted with pride) syn
不由得 bù yóu de can't help / cannot but syn
屈指可数 屈指可數 qū zhǐ kě shǔ can be counted on one's fingers (idiom) / very few syn
不失为 不失為 bù shī wéi can still be considered (to be...) / may after all be accepted as syn
目空一切 mù kōng yī qiè the eye can see nothing worthwhile all around (idiom) / arrogant / condescending / supercilious syn
比比皆是 bǐ bǐ jiē shì can be found everywhere syn
倒挂 倒掛 dào guà lit. to hang upside down / fig. topsy-turvy and inequitable, e.g. manufacturing and trading costs exceed the sale price (of some goods) / to borrow more than one can ever repay syn
美不胜收 美不勝收 měi bù shèng shōu nothing more beautiful can be imagined (idiom) syn
应接不暇 應接不暇 yìng jiē bù xiá more than one can attend to (idiom) / deluged (with inquiries etc) / overwhelmed (by the beauty of the scenery) syn
惹不起 rě bu qǐ can't afford to offend / dare not provoke / difficult to deal with / insufferable
可望 kě wàng can be expected (to) / to be expected (to) / hopefully (happening) syn
回天乏术 回天乏術 huí tiān fá shù (idiom) nothing can be done to remedy the situation / beyond recovery syn
鸦雀无声 鴉雀無聲 yā què wú shēng lit. crow and peacock make no sound / absolute silence (idiom) / not a single voice can be heard / absolute silence syn
缺一不可 quē yī bù kě not a single one is dispensable / can't do without either syn
一望无垠 一望無垠 yī wàng wú yín to stretch as far as the eye can see (idiom) 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.
少年宫 少年宮 shào nián gōng Children's Palace, institution where children can take part in various extracurricular activities
门可罗雀 門可羅雀 mén kě luó què lit. you can net sparrows at the door (idiom) / fig. completely deserted syn
天网恢恢 天網恢恢 tiān wǎng huī huī lit. heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it (idiom, from Laozi 73) / fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape / you can't run from the long arm of the law syn
由此可见 由此可見 yóu cǐ kě jiàn from this, it can be seen that... syn
漫山遍野 màn shān biàn yě lit. covering the mountains and the plains (idiom) / fig. as far as the eye can see / covering everything / omnipresent syn
振聋发聩 振聾發聵 zhèn lóng fā kuì lit. so loud that even the deaf can hear (idiom) / rousing even the apathetic 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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