十六字诀 十六字訣 shí liù zì jué 16-character formula, esp. Mao Zedong's mantra on guerrilla warfare: 敵進我退，敵駐我擾，敵疲我打，敵退我追|敌进我退，敌驻我扰，敌疲我打，敌退我追[di2 jin4 wo3 tui4 , di2 zhu4 wo3 rao3 , di2 pi2 wo3 da3 , di2 tui4 wo3 zhui1] when the enemy advances we retreat / when the enemy makes camp we harass / when the enemy is exhausted we fight / and when the enemy retreats we pursue 律诗 律詩 lǜ shī regular verse / strict poetic form with eight lines of 5, 6 or 7 syllables and even lines rhyming syn 七言律诗 七言律詩 qī yán lǜ shī verse form consisting of 8 lines of 7 syllables, with rhyme on alternate lines (abbr. to 七律[qi1lu:4]) 法令纹 法令紋 fǎ lìng wén nasolabial fold / smile lines / laugh lines 鼻唇沟 鼻唇溝 bí chún gōu nasolabial fold / smile lines / laugh lines 冲锋陷阵 衝鋒陷陣 chōng fēng xiàn zhèn to charge and break through enemy lines syn 单刀赴会 單刀赴會 dān dāo fù huì lit. to go among enemies with only one's sword (idiom) / fig. to go alone into enemy lines 留下 liú xià to leave behind / to stay behind / to remain / to keep / not to let (sb) go syn 背后 背後 bèi hòu behind / at the back / in the rear / behind sb's back syn 落 là to leave out / to be missing / to leave behind or forget to bring / to lag or fall behind syn 名落孙山 名落孫山 míng luò sūn shān lit. to fall behind Sun Shan 孫山|孙山[Sun1 Shan1] (who came last in the imperial examination) (idiom) / fig. to fail an exam / to fall behind (in a competition) syn 千里送鹅毛，礼轻情意重 千里送鵝毛，禮輕情意重 qiān lǐ sòng é máo , lǐ qīng qíng yì zhòng goose feather sent from afar, a trifling present with a weighty thought behind it (idiom) / It's not the gift that counts, but the thought behind it. 礼轻情意重 禮輕情意重 lǐ qīng qíng yì zhòng goose feather sent from afar, a trifling present with a weighty thought behind it (idiom) / It's not the gift that counts, but the thought behind it. 死对头 死對頭 sǐ duì tou arch-enemy / sworn enemy syn 死敌 死敵 sǐ dí mortal enemy / arch-enemy syn 敌情 敵情 dí qíng the situation of the enemy positions / intelligence about the enemy 御敌 禦敵 yù dí armed enemy of the nation / enemy of the Emperor / fig. championship challenger / contender opposing champion in sporting contest 草木皆兵 cǎo mù jiē bīng lit. every tree or bush an enemy soldier (idiom) / fig. to panic and treat everyone as an enemy / to feel beleaguered syn 守敌 守敵 shǒu dí enemy defense / enemy garrison 敌特 敵特 dí tè enemy (agents) / (class) enemy syn 馘 guó (literary) to cut off the left ear of a slain enemy / the severed ear of a slain enemy 大敌当前 大敵當前 dà dí dāng qián facing a powerful enemy (idiom) / fig. confronting grave difficulties / Enemy at the Gates, 1991 movie by Jean-Jacques Annaud syn 人民公敌 人民公敵 rén mín gōng dí the enemy of the people / the class enemy (Marxism) 冤家对头 冤家對頭 yuān jiā duì tóu enemy (idiom) / opponent / arch-enemy syn 反间 反間 fǎn jiàn to feed the enemy misinformation through their own spies / to sow discord in the enemy camp 折冲樽俎 折衝樽俎 zhé chōng zūn zǔ lit. to stop the enemy at the banquet table / fig. to get the better of an enemy during diplomatic functions syn 线条 線條 xiàn tiáo line (in drawing, calligraphy etc) / the lines or contours of a three-dimensional object (hairstyle, clothing, car etc) syn 台词 臺詞 tái cí an actor's lines / dialogue / Taiwanese word syn 倒数 倒數 dào shǔ to count backwards (from 10 down to 0) / to count down / from the bottom (lines on a page) / from the back (rows of seats) 架空 jià kōng to build (a hut etc) on stilts / to install (power lines etc) overhead / (fig.) unfounded / impractical / (fig.) to make sb a mere figurehead syn 对联 對聯 duì lián rhyming couplet / pair of lines of verse written vertically down the sides of a doorway / CL:副[fu4],幅[fu2] syn 纹理 紋理 wén lǐ vein lines (in marble or fingerprint) / grain (in wood etc) syn 串行 chuàn háng to miss a line / to confuse two lines 穿帮 穿幫 chuān bāng (TV or movie) blooper / continuity error / (theater) to flub one's lines / unintended exposure of a body part / to be exposed (of a scheme or trick) / to reveal sth one intended to conceal through a slip of the tongue / to blow one's cover 后路 後路 hòu lù escape route / retreat route / communication lines to the rear / alternative course of action / room for maneuver syn 字里行间 字裡行間 zì lǐ háng jiān between the words and the lines (idiom) / implied meaning / connotations syn 两栖 兩棲 liǎng qī amphibious / dual-talented / able to work in two different lines syn 纹路 紋路 wén lù veined pattern / wrinkles / vein lines (in marble or fingerprint) / grain (in wood etc) syn 平行线 平行線 píng xíng xiàn parallel lines 接驳 接駁 jiē bó to access / to transfer passengers between two railway lines 夹角 夾角 jiā jiǎo angle (between two intersecting lines) 格律 gé lǜ forms of versification / conventions regarding set number of words and lines, choice of tonal patterns and rhyme schemes for various types of Classical Chinese poetic composition / metrical verse 纵贯 縱貫 zòng guàn lit. warp string in weaving / fig. vertical or north-south lines / to pass through / to cross lengthwise / to pierce (esp. north-south or top-to-bottom) syn 对仗 對仗 duì zhàng antithesis (two lines of poetry matching in sense and sound) / to fight / to wage war syn 压阵 壓陣 yā zhèn to bring up the rear / to provide support / to hold the lines 按图索骥 按圖索驥 àn tú suǒ jì lit. looking for a fine horse using only a picture (idiom) / fig. to do things along rigid, conventional lines / to try and find sth with the help of a clue syn 旁系 páng xì collateral relative (descended from a common ancestor but through different lines) 白 bái white / snowy / pure / bright / empty / blank / plain / clear / to make clear / in vain / gratuitous / free of charge / reactionary / anti-communist / funeral / to stare coldly / to write wrong character / to state / to explain / vernacular / spoken lines in opera syn 交 jiāo to hand over / to deliver / to pay (money) / to turn over / to make friends / (of lines) to intersect / variant of 跤[jiao1] syn 笑纹 笑紋 xiào wén laugh lines (on the face) 一目十行 yī mù shí háng ten lines at a glance (idiom) / to read very rapidly syn 回归线 回歸線 huí guī xiàn tropic / one of the two latitude lines, Tropic of Capricorn or Tropic of Cancer 因袭 因襲 yīn xí to follow old patterns / to imitate existing models / to continue along the same lines syn 排 pái a row / a line / to set in order / to arrange / to line up / to eliminate / to drain / to push open / platoon / raft / classifier for lines, rows etc syn 排 pǎi a row / a line / to set in order / to arrange / to line up / to eliminate / to drain / to push open / platoon / raft / classifier for lines, rows etc syn 句 jù sentence / clause / phrase / classifier for phrases or lines of verse syn 爻 yáo the solid and broken lines of the eight trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], e.g. ☶ 瑑 zhuàn engraved lines 串线 串線 chuàn xiàn to get the lines crossed 五言绝句 五言絕句 wǔ yán jué jù poetic form consisting of four lines of five syllables, with rhymes on first, second and fourth line 交叉阴影线 交叉陰影線 jiāo chā yīn yǐng xiàn hatched lines / cross-hatched graphic pattern 人之初，性本善 rén zhī chū , xìng běn shàn man at birth is fundamentally good in nature (the first two lines of Three Character Classic 三字經|三字经[San1 zi4 Jing1]) 来复线 來復線 lái fù xiàn rifling (spiral lines on inside of gun barrel imparting spin to the bullet) 划线板 劃線板 huà xiàn bǎn ruler (used for drawing lines) 句数 句數 jù shù number of sentences / number of lines (in verse etc) 地垄 地壟 dì lǒng lines on ridges on ploughed field 地脉 地脈 dì mài geographical position according to the principles of feng shui 風水|风水[feng1 shui3] / ley lines 夹批 夾批 jiā pī critical annotations between the lines 密排 mì pái leading (between lines of type) 对词 對詞 duì cí (of actors) to practice lines together / to rehearse a dialogue 对顶角 對頂角 duì dǐng jiǎo angle to the vertical / angle (between two lines or two planes) 接驳车 接駁車 jiē bó chē shuttle bus ferrying passengers between train stations on two different rail lines 挦 撏 xián to pull out (esp. hair or feathers) / to pick / to pluck / fig. to extract (lines from a text) 李娃传 李娃傳 lǐ wá zhuàn Tale of Courtesan Li Wa, novel by Tang writer Bai Xingjian 白行簡|白行简[Bai2 Xing2 jian3] along the lines of La Traviata, favorite opera plot 汀线 汀線 tīng xiàn lines formed by waves on a beach 皇家加勒比海游轮公司 皇家加勒比海遊輪公司 huáng jiā jiā lè bǐ hǎi yóu lún gōng sī Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 纹缕 紋縷 wén lǚ veined pattern / wrinkles / vein lines (in marble or fingerprint) / grain (in wood etc) 经纬线 經緯線 jīng wěi xiàn lines of latitude and longitude / warp and woof 道白 dào bái spoken lines in opera syn 酒筹 酒籌 jiǔ chóu drinking game chips (typically in the form of strips of bamboo inscribed with lines of poetry) 颔联 頷聯 hàn lián third and fourth lines (in an eight-line poem) which form a couplet 达美航空 達美航空 dá měi háng kōng Delta Air Lines, Inc., airline headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia 蓝线 藍線 lán xiàn blue lines 戏词 戲詞 xì cí actor's lines (in theater) syn 国际负载线会议 International Conference on Load Lines 弗朗荷费谱线 Fraunhofer lines 国际船舶载重线公约 國際船舶載重線公約 International Convention on Load Lines 交叉角 angle of cut / crossing angle of position lines 测深线方向 測深線方向 line direction / sounding line direction / direction of sounding lines 入户公用事业管线 入戶公用事業管線 incoming utility and service lines 四出文钱 四出文錢 sì chū wén qián coin minted in the reign of Emperor Ling of Han 漢靈帝|汉灵帝[Han4 Ling2 Di4], with a square hole in the middle and four lines radiating out from each corner of the square (hence the name 四出文) 土味情话 土味情話 tǔ wèi qíng huà cheesy pick-up lines 异面直线 異面直線 yì miàn zhí xiàn (math.) skew lines 罚写 罰寫 fá xiě to make a student write sth out many times, as a punishment / writing lines 溜 liù swift current / rapids / (dialect) (of speech, actions etc) skilled / proficient / (of movements) quick / speedy / (bound form) rain runoff from a roof / (bound form) roof gutter / classifier for rows, lines etc / surroundings / neighborhood / (dialect) to practice / (dialect) to plaster / to fill in the cracks (with cement, lime plaster etc) syn 忘词 忘詞 wàng cí (of a singer, actor etc) to forget one's lines 之后 之後 zhī hòu after / behind / (at the beginning of a sentence) afterwards / since then syn 说道 說道 shuō dao to discuss / reason (behind sth) syn 后面 後面 hòu mian the back / the rear / the last bit / behind / near the end / at the back / later / afterwards syn 