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東方人與西方人雖然文化有很大的差異,對於事情的思考角度也不盡相同,但是有些中國人常使用的諺語、俗語(proverb)其表達方式卻和外國人非常相似。


Ian現在要與你分享幾個他覺得非常有趣的proverb。


Since I came to Taiwan, I have always been interested in Chinese proverbs. I think they're really cool. I want to learn thousands of them and then whenever someone asks me a question, I'll answer with a proverb.


In English we have sayings or proverbs as well, and sometimes they are pretty close to the sayings in Chinese. Here are a few common English proverbs that have Chinese translations.


一些中英非常類似的俗語



  1. Time is money  時間就是金錢
  2. To kill two birds with one stone  一石二鳥
  3. Don't burn the candle at both ends  蠟燭兩頭燒
  4. He was born with a "silver" spoon in hand  含著"金"湯匙出生
  5. Love is blind  愛情是盲目的
  6. In doing we learn  做中學
  7. Knowledge is power  知識就是力量
  8. All roads lead to Rome  條條大路通羅馬
  9. I think, therefore I am  我思故我在
  10. History repeats itself  歷史往往重演

 


There are lots of other proverbs as well. I'll tell you some of my favorites and explain what they mean.


Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.  絕對的權力產生絕對的腐化。


This saying makes a play on the word absolute and means that people with too much power will become corrupt. Absolute power means giving all the power to one person or agency. In this saying "absolutely" means "for sure" or "all the time".


The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  有其父必有其子。


This saying means that people are like their parents. The apple is the child and the tree is the parent. Some other sayings that are similar to this are "Like father, like son" or "Like mother, like daughter".


Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise


早睡早起能使人健康、富有、明智。


This saying is pretty straight forward, but I like it because my grandpa always used to say it. It means that if you go to bed early and get up early, you'll be successful.  It is similar to saying like "The early bird catches the worm" or "You snooze you loose" and means that people should get up early and start their day.


The squeaky wheel gets the grease.  會吵的孩子有糖吃。


This saying means that if you never make your voice heard, you will never get what you want. If a wheel is squeaky, you hear it and then grease it so it will stop making noise. This is the same as a customer who complains and then gets a refund, or  a student who complains and gets a better mark on their test.


It's not over until the fat lady sings.  不到最後關頭不知勝負。


I just found out where this saying comes from today and it's really funny. The meaning is that "it's not over until it's over" or that people shouldn't give up until they are sure something is finished. The saying actually comes from church. Gospel singers are often fat, and they sing at the end of a day of church. 


A little boy was sitting in church one day and he wanted to go home. He asked his father, "Dad, is it over yet?" His father replied, "It's not over until the fat lady sings." 


 

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