Today's Chinese: 流水不腐，户枢不蠹(liúshuǐ bù fǔ, hùshū bú dù) "flowing water doesn't stagnate and a door hinge doesn't rust" - Staying active will keep you from getting rusty/stagnant, keep on keeping on

画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) draw legs on a snake - to overdo something & ruin it 画龙点睛 (huà lóng diăn jīng) paint a dragon & dot in the eyes - to add an important finishing touch 照猫画虎 (zhào māo huà hǔ) paint a tiger based on a cat - to copy something and miss the essence

Today’s Chinese: 学海无涯 (xué hǎi wú yá) the sea of learning is without limits - there will always be an endless sea of knowledge one has yet to learn

Today’s Chinese: 好记性不如烂笔头 (hăo jìxìng bù rú làn bǐtóu) “even a good memory is no match for a worn out pen nib” - better to write something down than trust you're going to remember it.

Today’s Chinese: 拉不出屎来怨茅房 (lā bu chū shǐ lái yuàn máo fáng) “blame the toilet when you can’t shit” to blame others for your own shortcomings.

Liz Carter in middle school i heard from a classmate a family saying of theirs and it went like 自己尿歪了還怪馬桶噴尿 “blaming the toilet for pissing on the floor when you can’t aim”

Today’s Chinese: 木已成舟 (mù yǐ chéng zhōu) “the wood has already become a boat” - something can’t be undone, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. 🪵⏩️🛶

Shēngyì bù hăo guài guìtái - to blame the counter for business being bad

Another variation - To blame not being able to shit on insufficient gravitational force

Today’s Chinese: 雷声大，雨点小 (léishēng dà, yǔdiǎn xiǎo) “loud thunder (but) tiny raindrops”- all talk and little action, to make a show of doing things but not actually do much.

Liz Carter All bark and no bite!

Today’s Chinese: 吃不了兜着走 (chī but liǎo dōu zhe zǒu) “if you can’t finish eating it you’ll have to take the rest home” - if you make your bed you have to lie in it, if you start something you’ll have to deal with the consequences

Today’s Chinese: 一步一个脚印 (yí bù yíge jiǎoyìn) “one step, one footprint” to take things one step at a time, make steady progress

Liz Carter Also the title of the excellent blog by Carl Gene Fordham! carlgene.com/blog/

Today’s Chinese: 一言难尽 (yì yán nán jìn) literally “difficult for one remark to exhaust it” - it’s a long story

Today’s Chinese: 远水救不了近火 (yuǎn shuǐ jìu but liǎo jìn huǒ) “distant water won’t put out nearby fires” - urgent problems require timely solutions, measured or gradual changes are not effective in confronting crises

Today’s Chinese: 船到桥头自然直 (chuán dào qiáotóu zìrán zhí) “when the boat gets to where it passes under the bridge it’ll straighten out naturally” things will work out, don’t worry too much, cross that bridge when you come to it

Today’s Chinese: 忙中有错 (máng zhōng yǒu cuò) “to make an error while busy” - when you make a mistake or miss something because you are rushed or busy, often said in explanation or apology.

Today’s Chinese: 天下没有不散的筵席 (tiānxià méiyǒu bú sàn de yánxí) there are no never-ending feasts under heaven - all good things must come to an end