Excuse me, may I ask...?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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 / fifth month (of the lunar year)

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

(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

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

it may be assumed that

5-1 (May 1st)

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

(in elections for village committees in the PRC since the 1990s) unrestricted nomination, a type of election where 1. everyone in the community is eligible to nominate somebody 2. voting is done by writing the name of one's nominee on the ballot, and 3. one's nominee can be anyone in the community (Nominees who receive the highest number of votes may be thereby elected or, more often, presented as the candidates in a further round of voting.) / (in other contexts) selection of the best contender in a process open to all comers / (in the entertainment industry) open audition

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

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (American media company)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

lit. an ant hole may cause the collapse of a great dike (idiom) / fig. huge damage may result from a moment's negligence

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

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

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

(idiom) great intelligence may appear to be stupidity

(honorific) May I ask?

may I offer a bit of advice

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

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

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

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

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

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

return what you borrowed on time, you may borrow again next time (idiom)

(formal) you may dispense with curtseying

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

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

(old) to stand up (after kowtowing) / You may rise.

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

(colloquial) whatever / come what may

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

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".)

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

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

may I ask

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

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

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

may not

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

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

International Labor Day (May Day)

possible / probable / possibly / probably / may / might

first bouillon, a broth made with ingredients that may later be reboiled to make a second bouillon 二湯｜二汤

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

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

backscratcher (made from bamboo etc) / (may also refer to other products that are of benefit to old people, such as padded cloth shoes, mobility tricycle etc)

will perhaps / may (in the future)

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)

Qing emergency cabinet set up in May 1911 to confront the Xinhai rebels

"Mr Democracy", phrase used during the May 4th Movement 五四運動｜五四运动 / abbr. for 德謨克拉西｜德谟克拉西 / see also 賽先生｜赛先生

a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)

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

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

(idiom) a clever person may become the victim of his own ingenuity; cleverness may overreach itself; too smart for one's own good

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

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

a flower may blossom again, but a person cannot get young again (proverb)

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

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

lit. either don't do it, or don't rest (idiom) / fig. if you do it at all, you may as well go the whole hog / in for a penny, in for a pound

lit. the meat falls apart as it stews, but it all stays in the pot (idiom) / fig. some of us may lose or gain, but in any case the benefits don't go to outsiders

Dear Sirs / To Whom It May Concern

What (noble errand) brings you here? / May I help you? / What can I do for you?

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

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

May Day / International Labor Day (May 1)

if I may be so bold

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

Political and Legal Affairs Commission (may refer to the national-level Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, responsible for overseeing law enforcement, judicial affairs and domestic security, or a corresponding body at a lower administrative level)

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

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

only the official is allowed to light the fire / Gods may do what cattle may not / quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi

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

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