lit. use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius) / to use this in place of that / what you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts
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]
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
dripping water penetrates the stone (idiom) / constant perseverance yields success / You can achieve your aim if you try hard without giving up. / Persistent effort overcomes any difficulty.
dripping water penetrates the stone (idiom) / constant perseverance yields success / You can achieve your aim if you try hard without giving up. / Persistent effort overcomes any difficulty.
you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.)
particle indicating that a previously asked question is to be applied to the preceding word ("What about ...?", "And ...?") / particle for inquiring about location ("Where is ...?") / particle signaling a pause, to emphasize the preceding words and allow the listener time to take them on board ("ok?", "are you with me?") / (at the end of a declarative sentence) particle indicating continuation of a state or action / particle indicating strong affirmation
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]
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")
we or us (including both the speaker and the person(s) spoken to) / (dialect) I or me / (dialect) (in a coaxing or familiar way) you / also pr. [za2 men5]
to tie up / to bind up / (medicine) to ligate / (of a male) to have a vasectomy (ligation of the vasa deferentia) / (of a female) to have one's tubes tied (tubal ligation)
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])
The four tones
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