"Thing" • Chinese-English Dictionary

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西 dōng xi thing / stuff / person / CL:個|个[ge4],件[jian4]
 shì qing affair / matter / thing / business / CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1]
 shì wù thing / object / CL:個|个[ge4]
 xiàng back of neck / item / thing / term (in a mathematical formula) / sum (of money) / classifier for principles, items, clauses, tasks, research projects etc
 wán yì toy / plaything / thing / act / trick (in a performance, stage show, acrobatics etc)
 wù shì affair / matter / thing / business / articles / goods / materials / thing / stuff / person (derog.)
 shì matter / thing / item / work / affair / CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2]
 wù thing / object / matter / abbr. for physics 物理
 dōng dōng (coll.) thing / item / stuff
 yě (Cantonese) thing / matter / stuff
 ā wù r thing / (you) useless thing
 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")
 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]
 qí tā other / the others / else / other than it / in addition to the thing mentioned above
 yí xiàng an item / a thing
 kàn fǎ way of looking at a thing / view / opinion / CL:個|个[ge4]
 hǎo shì good action, deed, thing or work (also sarcastic, "a fine thing indeed") / charity / happy occasion / Daoist or Buddhist ceremony for the souls of the dead
 dì yī shí jiān in the first moments (of sth happening) / immediately (after an event) / first thing
 shí wù material object / concrete object / original object / in kind / object for practical use / definite thing / reality / matter (physics)
 shí tǐ entity / substance / thing that has a material existence (as opposed to a conceptual, virtual or online existence) / the real thing (as opposed to an image or model of it)
 yī huí shì one and the same (thing) / one thing (as distinct from another)
 huài shì bad thing / misdeed / to ruin things
 jì tuō to entrust (to sb) / to place (one's hope, energy etc) in / a thing in which you invest (your hope, energy etc)
 yī dà zǎo at dawn / at first light / first thing in the morning
 zhǐ guǎn solely engrossed in one thing / just (one thing, no need to worry about the rest) / simply / by all means / please feel free / do not hesitate (to ask for sth)
 guài shì strange thing / curious occurrence
 shí shì fact / actual thing / practical matter
 běn tǐ main part / torso / the thing in itself / noumenon (object of purely intellectual perception according to Kant)
 fàn cuò to err / to make a mistake / to do the wrong thing
 shēng líng (literary) the people / living thing / creature
 xīn chǒng current favorite / the latest thing / darling (of the market or the media etc)
 suǒ sī what one thinks / person or thing that is on one's mind
 qīng zǎo first thing in the morning / at daybreak
 yì xiǎng tiān kāi to imagine the wildest thing / to indulge in fantasy
 xiǎo bu diǎn tiny / very small / tiny thing / small child / baby
 zhuàng wù ...-shaped thing / to portray sth
 zǐ son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.-1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the Rat / Viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° / (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / sub-
 zhēn shì reality / veracity / the real thing
 hùn wéi yī tán to confuse one thing with another (idiom) / to muddle
 měi shì a fine thing / a wonderful thing
 guō zi pot / pan / wok / cauldron / pot-shaped thing / hotpot
 yán bù yóu zhōng to say sth without meaning it (idiom) / to speak tongue in cheek / saying one thing but meaning sth different
 gù cǐ shī bǐ lit. to attend to one thing and lose sight of another (idiom) / fig. to be unable to manage two or more things at once / cannot pay attention to one thing without neglecting the other
 mìng gēn lifeblood / the thing that one cherishes most in life / (coll.) family jewels (male genitals)
 yí huā jiē mù lit. to graft flowers onto a tree / to surreptitiously substitute one thing for another (idiom)
 bù sān bù sì dubious / shady / neither one thing nor the other / neither fish nor fowl / nondescript
 hùn tóng to mix up / to confuse one thing with another
 zhuān sī to work solely on / to have as one's (or its) sole function / person or agency responsible for one specific thing
 wèi shǒu wèi wěi afraid of the head, terrified of the tail (idiom) / ever fearful and nervous / afraid of the slightest thing
 Zhāng guān Lǐ dài lit. to put Zhang's hat on Li's head / to attribute sth to the wrong person (idiom) / to confuse one thing with another
 gòu wèi lit. just the right flavor / just right / just the thing / excellent
 rén yán kě wèi gossip is a fearful thing (idiom)
 míng rì huáng huā lit. chrysanthemums after the Double Ninth Festival (idiom) / fig. outdated / thing of the past / dead letter
 lǐ dài táo jiāng lit. the plum tree withers in place of the peach tree / to substitute one thing for another / to carry the can for sb
 shǒu head / chief / first (occasion, thing etc) / classifier for poems, songs etc
 wán bì flawless piece of jade / (fig.) perfect person or thing / virgin / to return sth intact
 bì xǐ worn-out shoes / a worthless thing
 dàn egg / CL:個|个[ge4],打[da2] / oval-shaped thing
 guō pot / pan / wok / cauldron / pot-shaped thing / CL:口[kou3],隻|只[zhi1]
 pì fart / flatulence / nonsense / (usu. in the negative) what / (not) a damn thing
 huā sound of a thing flying fast by / whoosh / cracking sound / Taiwan pr. [huo4]
 àn dù Chén cāng lit. secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河[Wei4 He2] at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3] of Chu) / fig. to feign one thing while doing another / to cheat under cover of a diversion
 huǎng rú gé shì like a thing of the previous generation / as if it were a lifetime ago
 bǐ yī shí cǐ yī shí that was one thing, and this is another / times have changed
 bù xù rén yán not to worry about the gossip (idiom) / to do the right thing regardless of what others say
 kǒu bù yìng xīn to say one thing but mean another / to dissimulate
 Wú tóu Chǔ wěi lit. head in Wu and tail in Chu (idiom) / fig. close together / head-to-tail / one thing starts where the other leaves off
 xīn kǒu bù yī heart and mouth at variance (idiom) / keeping one's real intentions to oneself / saying one thing but meaning sth different
 kuāng qiè zhōng wù a commonplace thing
 wén yī zhī shí lit. to hear one and know ten (idiom) / fig. explain one thing and (he) understands everything / a word to the wise
 zī shì tǐ dà this is no small thing (idiom) / to have a serious matter at hand
 yán xíng bù yī (idiom) to say one thing and do another
 cǎo cǎo liǎo shì to rush through the work / to get through a thing carelessly
 yán xíng bù fú (idiom) to say one thing and do another
 hǎo jǐng bù cháng a good thing doesn't last forever (idiom)
 zhǔ shú de yā zi fēi le the cooked duck flew away (proverb) / (fig.) to let a sure thing slip through one's fingers
 pò shì trivial matter / trifle / annoying thing
 qǐ to pick up thing with chopsticks or pincers.
 yī bō wèi píng , yī bō yòu qǐ before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises (idiom) / a new problem arises before the old is solved / many twists and turns to a story / one thing after another
 yī bí kǒng chū qì lit. to breathe through the same nostril (idiom) / fig. two people say exactly the same thing (usually derog.) / to sing from the same hymn sheet
 sān shí liù jì , zǒu wéi shàng cè of the thirty-six stratagems, the best option is to flee (idiom) / the best thing to do is leave
 shàng shàng zhī cè the best policy / the best thing one can do in the circumstances
 zài zhì to make more of the same thing / to reproduce / to reprocess / to remanufacture
 yīng gāi de you're most welcome / sure thing! / I did what I was supposed to do
 dà běn Niè pán jīng the great Nirvana sutra: every living thing has Buddha nature.
 lāo shí zi encumbrance / burden / that awful thing (colloquial) / nuisance
 míng xiū zhàn dào , àn dù Chén cāng lit. repair the plank road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河[Wei4 He2] at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3] of Chu) / fig. to feign one thing while doing another / to cheat under cover of a diversion
 Niè pán Jīng the Nirvana sutra: every living thing has Buddha nature.
 yì shì sth else / a separate matter / not the same thing / with different jobs (not colleagues) / a remarkable thing / sth special / an odd thing / sth strange or incomprehensible
 xiāng pèi wù thing that is well suited / pet animal that suits its owner
 zhēn xiāng awesome (expression of approval used hypocritically after bitching about the exact same thing earlier) (neologism c. 2014)
 qiū háo fine hair grown by animals (or down grown by birds) in the fall / (fig.) sth barely discernible / the slightest thing / the minutest detail
 lǎo shǔ tuō mù xiān , dà tóu zài hòu tou when the mice drag a shovel, the biggest thing comes second / the tip of the iceberg / the cockroach principle
 mò bù rán equally true for (all the rest) / the same thing applies (for everyone)
 wàn ān completely secure / a sure thing / rest assured
 xíng bù gù yán to say one thing and do another (idiom)
 biǎo lǐ bù yī outside appearance and inner reality differ (idiom) / not what it seems / saying one thing but meaning sth different
 wù xiě to unwittingly write the wrong thing
 shuō shì yī huí shì , zuò yòu shì lìng wài yī huí shì Saying is one thing, doing quite another (idiom)
线 zhēn tóu xiàn nǎo needle and thread / sewing implements / needlework / (fig.) unimportant thing
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