| | 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.) | HSK 1 |
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| | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then / (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after / (same as 就是) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precisely; exactly / only; as little as / as much as; as many as / to approach; to move towards / to undertake; to engage in / (often followed by 著|着) taking advantage of / (of food) to go with / with regard to; concerning / (pattern: 就 ... 也 ...) even if ... still ... / (pattern: 不 ... 就 ...) if not ... then must be ... | HSK 1 |
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| | (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六 "sixth") / (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed / (old) residence of a high official / (literary) but; however / (literary) only; just | HSK 1 |
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| | but; yet; however; still / merely; only; just | HSK 2 |
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| | but; however | HSK 2 |
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| | (not only ...) but also / moreover / in addition / furthermore | HSK 2 |
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| | not only (... but also ...) | HSK 2 |
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| | only / merely / no more than / but / however / anyway (to get back to a previous topic) / cannot be more (after adjectival) | HSK 2 |
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| | to invert; to place upside down or frontside back / to pour out / to tip out; to dump / inverted; upside down; reversed / to go backward / contrary to what one might expect; but; yet | HSK 2 |
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| | but; however / (used for emphasis) indeed | HSK 2 |
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| | green tea / (slang) (of a girl) seemingly innocent and charming but actually calculating and manipulative / a girl who has these qualities | HSK 3 |
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| | variant of 記錄|记录 (but in Taiwan, not for the verb sense "to record") | HSK 3 |
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| | not just; not limited to / (as a correlative conjunction) not only (..., but also ...) | HSK 3 |
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| | to have no other option but to ...; to have to; to be forced to | HSK 3 |
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| | have no choice or option but to / cannot but / have to / can't help it / can't avoid | HSK 3 |
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| | merely; only; just; nothing but / simply / but; however | HSK 3 |
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| | and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast) | HSK 4 |
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| | but / yet / however / while / to go back / to decline / to retreat / nevertheless / even though | HSK 4 |
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| | however; but; yet | HSK 4 |
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| | unimportant / not serious / it doesn't matter / never mind / it looks all right, but | HSK 4 |
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| | part (esp. of the body, but also of a vegetable, e.g. the root, or a garment, e.g. the sleeve, etc) | HSK 5 |
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| | have to / cannot but | HSK 5 |
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| | only / merely / nothing but / no more than / it's just that ... | HSK 5 |
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| | to have no alternative / frustrated / exasperated / helpless / (conjunction) but unfortunately | HSK 5 |
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| | to have no alternative but to; to be obliged to | HSK 6 |
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| | flower vase / (fig.) female employee considered to be just a pretty face (attractive but not very competent) | HSK 6 |
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| | (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then / (bound form) standard; norm / (bound form) principle / (literary) to imitate; to follow / classifier for written items | HSK 7-9 |
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| | to act against one's will / to have no alternative but to / to have to / to have no choice / must | HSK 7-9 |
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| | (idiom) cannot refrain from; cannot help; cannot but | HSK 7-9 |
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| | girl / servant girl / (used deprecatingly, but sometimes also as a term of endearment) | HSK 7-9 |
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| | not just in name only, but also in reality (idiom) / aptly named / worthy of the name | HSK 7-9 |
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| | can't help / cannot but | HSK 7-9 |
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| | if it were not for / but for | HSK 7-9 |
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| | but on the contrary / but expectedly | HSK 7-9 |
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| | less capable than desirable (idiom); not as strong as one would wish / the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak | HSK 7-9 |
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| | to open one's eyes wide at the sight of profit (idiom); thinking of nothing but personal gain / money-grubbing | HSK 7-9 |
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| | to speak harshly but without any bad intent (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
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| | apparently right but actually wrong; specious (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
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| | lit. say three in the morning but four in the evening (idiom); to change sth that is already settled upon / indecisive / to blow hot and cold | HSK 7-9 |
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| | mainland China (PRC excluding Hong Kong and Macau, but including islands such as Hainan) / Japan (used in Taiwan during Japanese colonization) | |
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| | not only that, but ... | |
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| | letter sheet (similar to an aerogram but not necessarily sent by airmail) | |
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| | loose, but allows no escape (idiom, from Laozi 老子); the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape | |
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| | to be unmentionable / be unspeakable / must / cannot but | |
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| | small profit but rapid turnover | |
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| | friendly advice / words spoken on sb's behalf / a good word / kind words / words that sound fine but are not followed up with actions | |
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| | lit. doesn't hurt, doesn't tickle (idiom); sth is wrong, but not quite sure what / fig. not getting to any matter of substance / scratching the surface / superficial / perfunctory | |
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| | lit. tiger's head, snake's tail (idiom); fig. a strong start but weak finish | |
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| | different tunes played with equal skill (idiom) / different methods leading to the same result / different approach but equally satisfactory outcome | |
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| | (PRC) (since 1985) graduation certificate, which certifies that the student has graduated, but not necessarily met all requirements to be awarded a degree certificate 學位證書|学位证书 / (1981-1985) graduation certificate, which certified that the student graduated, and, if it included a final sentence indicating a degree type, also certified that the student met all the requirements for a degree | |
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| | no thanks (used to politely but informally decline) | |
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| | happy to partake but not prepared to do any work (idiom) / all take and no give | |
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| | to have talent but no opportunity (idiom) / to be an unrecognized talent | |
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| | different broth but the same old medicine (idiom); a change in name only / a change in form but not in substance | |
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| | lit. long in existence but ever new (idiom) / fig. timeless; unfading | |
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| | lit. has a name but no reality (idiom); exists only in name / nominal | |
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| | nothing else but | |
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| | quick-fry / sim. to stir-frying, but with cornstarch added / also written 溜 | |
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| | a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend (idiom); refers to the classical philosophic schools of the Warring States period 475-221 BC, but adopted for Mao's campaign of 1956 | |
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| | lit. even a scrawny camel is bigger than a horse (idiom) / fig. even after suffering a loss, a rich person is still better off than ordinary people / a cultured person may come down in the world, but he is still superior to the common people | |
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| | (idiom) with everyone lending a hand (eagerly but somewhat chaotically) | |
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| | attractive appearance, but without substance | |
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| | lit. lotus roots may break, but the fiber remains joined (idiom); lovers part, but still long for one another | |
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| | easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice (idiom) / easier said than done | |
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| | flowery of fist with fancy footwork (idiom) / highly embellished and ineffectual / fancy but impractical skills / all show and no go / pugilistic wankery | |
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| | to want to articulate one's thoughts but be unable to | |
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| | to lose sth abstract but important (courage, authority, one's life etc) / to be bereaved of (one's spouse etc) / to die / disappointed / discouraged | |
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| | collateral relative (descended from a common ancestor but through different lines) | |
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| | poor but upright / destitute | |
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| | stinky tofu / strong-smelling preserved beancurd / fig. rough exterior but lovable person | |
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| | unadorned but elegant dress | |
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| | to recount history but omit one's ancestors (idiom); to forget one's roots | |
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| | to say sth without meaning it (idiom); to speak tongue in cheek / saying one thing but meaning sth different | |
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| | lit. new wine in old bottles; fig. new concepts in an old framework / (loan idiom from Matthew 9:17, but fig. meaning is opposite) | |
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| | 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 | |
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| | Book of Music, said to be one of the Six Classics lost after Qin's burning of the books in 212 BC, but may simply refer to Book of Songs 詩經|诗经 | |
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| | annealed / pliable but strong / tough / tenacious | |
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| | grandiose but impractical (idiom) / large but of no real use | |
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| | old but vigorous (idiom); hale and hearty despite the years | |
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| | Tang and Song dynasty provincial governor, in Tang times having military and civil authority, but only civil authority in Song | |
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| | (of a turn of events) not too encouraging / far from good / anything but reassuring | |
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| | goose feather sent from afar, a slight present but weighty meaning (idiom); It's not the present the counts, it's the thought behind it. | |
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| | lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom) / fig. everybody's business is nobody's business / (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.) | |
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| | want to stop but can't (idiom) / to be unable to stop oneself / to feel an urge to continue | |
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| | lit. not for the monk's sake but for the Buddha's sake (idiom) / fig. (to do sth for sb) out of deference to sb else | |
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| | (idiom) to know that it is so but not why it is so | |
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| | outside appearance and inner reality differ (idiom); not what it seems / saying one thing but meaning sth different | |
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| | life is but a dream (idiom) | |
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| | (idiom) it takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to cultivate people | |
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| | middle-aged but still attractive woman / lady of a certain age | |
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| | to want to say sth but then hesitate | |
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| | to lose at sunrise but gain at sunset (idiom) / to compensate later for one's earlier loss / what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts | |
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| | lit. the trees long for peace but the wind will never cease (idiom) / fig. the world changes, whether you want it or not | |
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| | (derog.) old but still alive / old fart / old bastard | |
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| | angry, but not daring to speak out (idiom); obliged to remain silent about one's resentment / unable to voice objections | |
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| | rarely known to anyone (idiom); almost unknown / secret to all but a few | |
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| | sentence-final particle similar to 了, but carrying a tone of approval | |
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| | Versailles (near Paris) / (slang) to humblebrag / ostensibly modest, but in fact boastful | |
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| | clever-clever / clever in trivial matters / sharp but petty-minded | |
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