Excuse me, may I ask...?

how (wonderful etc) / what (a great idea etc) / however (difficult it may be etc) / (in interrogative sentences) how (much etc) / to what extent

can / may / possible / able to / not bad / pretty good

to dare / daring / (polite) may I venture

period of time (may be months, or mere seconds) / spare time / skill / labor / effort

the not-very-distant past / modern times, excluding recent decades / (in the context of Chinese history) the period from the Opium Wars until the May 4th Movement (mid-19th century to 1919) / capitalist times (pre-1949)

(prefix) can; may; able to; -able / to approve; to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very / but; however

that's fine / may as well / (reduplicated) regardless of whether ... or ...

(bound form) wish; hope; desire / to be willing / to wish (that sth may happen); may ... / vow; pledge

apartment building; block of flats (may be a public housing block or a condominium etc) (CL:套)

plait / braid / pigtail / a mistake or shortcoming that may be exploited by an opponent / handle / CL: 根, 條｜条

to urge (an activity that may be beneficial, harmful or neutral); to encourage; to agitate; to instigate; to incite / to beat; to flap (wings, a fan etc)

(old) third person singular pronoun ("he" or "she") / second person singular pronoun ("you") / (May 4th period) third person singular feminine pronoun ("she") / (Classical Chinese) introductory particle with no specific meaning / (preceding a noun) that

May your business prosper! (formal letter-ending phrase)

sentence-final particle that conveys informality, warmth, friendliness or intimacy / may also indicate that one is stating a fact that the other person is not aware of

may I offer a bit of advice

May Fourth Movement / Chinese national renewal movement that started with 4th May 1919 protest against the Treaty of Versailles

6th earthly branch: 9-11 a.m., 4th solar month (5th May-5th June), year of the Snake / ancient Chinese compass point: 150°

public prosecutor; public procurator (judicial officer whose job may involve both criminal investigation and public prosecution)

must not / may not / not to be allowed / cannot

may not

(bound form) may; can / (bound form) to endure; to bear / (in 堪輿｜堪舆) heaven (contrasted with earth 輿｜舆)

Illness enters by the mouth, trouble comes out by the mouth (idiom). A loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble.

fourth of May, cf 五四運動｜五四运动, national renewal movement that started with 4th May 1919 protest against the Treaty of Versailles

Amitabha Buddha / the Buddha of the Western paradise / may the lord Buddha preserve us! / merciful Buddha!

Xiaoman or Lesser Full Grain, 8th of the 24 solar terms 二十四節氣｜二十四节气 21st May-5th June

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (American media company)

it may be assumed that

it may be said

to spend effort / to take trouble / May I trouble you to...? (as part of polite request) / Please would you mind...?

to take a lot of trouble (over sb or sth) / may I trouble you (to do sth)

International Labor Day (May Day)

lit. an old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop 1000 miles (idiom); fig. old people may still cherish high aspirations

to have all one's wishes (idiom) / best wishes / all the best / may all your hopes be fulfilled

be that as it may

large though its mesh may be, no criminal can slip through the wide net of justice

in Daoism, astral wind on which immortals may ride / strong wind

May you have a prosperous New Year! (New Year's greeting)

lit. don't fight, won't make friends (idiom); an exchange of blows may lead to friendship / no discord, no concord

to die without progeny / (offensive) may you die childless / may you be the last of your family line

may you live a long and happy life together (wedding greeting)

Youth Day (May 4th), PRC national holiday for young people aged 14 to 28, who get half a day off

Trouble issues from the mouth (idiom). A loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble.

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

tea egg (egg boiled with flavorings which may include black tea)

Live as long as the Zhongnan Mountains! (idiom) / Long may you live!

fortune as unpredictable as the weather, every day may bring fortune or calamity (idiom); sth unexpected may happen at any moment

Guyu or Grain Rain, 6th of the 24 solar terms 二十四節氣｜二十四节气 20th April-4th May

(honorific) May I ask?

"Mr Science", phrase used during the May 4th Movement 五四運動｜五四运动 / abbr. for 賽因斯｜赛因斯 / see also 德先生

lit. lotus roots may break, but the fiber remains joined (idiom); lovers part, but still long for one another

may you enjoy boundless longevity (idiom) / long may you live

May Day / International Labor Day (May 1)

Dear Sirs / To Whom It May Concern

one may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature (idiom)

may I ask

(colloquial) whatever / come what may

may your happiness be as immense as the East Sea (idiom)

Illness enters by the mouth (idiom). Mind what you eat! / fig. A loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble.

a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)

a wrong repeated becomes right (idiom); a lie or an error passed on for a long time may be taken for the truth

lit. (may you) have abundance year after year / (an auspicious saying for the Lunar New Year)

May / fifth month (of the lunar year)

end point (may refer to either end of sth with a start and an end) / (math.) endpoint

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

what is your surname? / (May I ask) your surname?

transliteration (rendering phonetic value, e.g. of English words in Chinese characters) / characters giving phonetic value of Chinese word or name (when the correct characters may be unknown) / transcription (linguistics) / to transcribe phonetic symbols

(formal) you may dispense with curtseying

a reading of a written Chinese word derived from a synonym (typically, a vernacular synonym) (e.g. in Mandarin, 投子 may be pronounced as its synonym 色子, and in Wu dialects, 二 is pronounced as its synonym 兩｜两 "liahn") / to pronounce a word using such a reading / (Japanese linguistics) kun-reading, a pronunciation of a kanji derived from a native Japanese word that matches its meaning rather than from the pronunciation of the character in a Sinitic language at the time it was imported from China (Note: A kun-reading of a character is distinguished from its on-reading(s) 音讀｜音读. For example, 山 has a kun-reading "yama" and an on-reading "san".)

May 7 cadre school (farm where urban cadres had to undertake manual labor and study ideology during the Cultural Revolution) (abbr. for 五七幹部學校｜五七干部学校)

to sculpt or mold a statue (by shaping a pliable material such as clay, plaster or wax, which may later be cast in metal – as distinct from carving in stone or wood) / a statue created through such a process

much hardships may awaken a nation (idiom); calamity that prompts renewal

anti-imperialist movement of 30th May 1925, involving general strike esp. in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong etc

bamboos placed across wooden frames on which grain may be stored in damp climates

Lixia or Start of Summer, 7th of the 24 solar terms 二十四節氣｜二十四节气 5th-20th May

cannot maintain (sth) / unable to keep / more likely than not / may well

school for cadres / May 7 Cadre School 五七幹校｜五七干校

a great hero may appear timid (idiom); the really brave person remains level-headed

voice (as sth that may be described as husky 沙啞｜沙哑 or deep 低沉 etc) / (physics) sound ray

lit. idly poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree to shade you / (fig.) unintentional actions may bring unexpected success / also written 無心插柳柳成蔭｜无心插柳柳成荫

a thousand tries leads to one success (idiom, humble expr.); Even without any notable ability on my part, I may still get it right sometimes by good luck.

Han dynasty name for countries in far West / may refer to Silk Road states or Alexandria or the Roman empire

not necessarily / may not turn out to be / maybe not

lit. an old cow eats young grass (idiom) / fig. a May-December relationship / a romance where the man is significantly older than the woman

(idiom) great intelligence may appear to be stupidity

the wise may appear stupid (idiom); a genius not appreciated in his own time

a great hero may appear timid, the wise may appear stupid (idiom); the general public may not recognize great talent

don't fight, won't make friends (idiom); an exchange of blows may lead to friendship

lit. don't sit under the eaves (where tiles may fall from the roof) (idiom); fig. keep out of danger

abbr. for 五卅運動｜五卅运动, The May Thirtieth Movement (1925)

lit. (may the) five blessings descend upon this home (namely: longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a natural death) / (an auspicious saying for the Lunar New Year)

possible / probable / possibly / probably / may / might

auxiliary verb introducing future action: may (be able to) / will (cause) / should (enable) / going to

May Fourth Movement / Chinese national renewal movement that started with 4th May 1919 protest against the Treaty of Versailles

lit. you may go undetected during the new moon, but at full moon you'll be found out (idiom) / fig. you can't put it off forever / sooner or later you'll have to deal with it

5th earthly branch: 7-9 a.m., 3rd solar month (5th April-4th May), year of the Dragon / ancient Chinese compass point: 120°

the sparrow may be small but all its vital organs are there (idiom) / small but complete in every detail

(neologism c. 2009) wife of a gay man (the man may marry to conform with social expectations, and the woman often enters the marriage not knowing he is gay)

May

5-1 (May 1st)