Chinese allegories Lesson 30

lĕng shuǐ pào chá – wú wèi
冷水泡茶 – 无味
Make tea with unboiled water – Literally, unpleasant tasting; tasteless. Figuratively, uninteresting

gǔn shuǐ pào chá – yòu nóng yòu xiāng
滚水泡茶 – 又浓又香
Make tea with boiling water – of rich flavor; of strong fragrance or aroma

bō li bēi qī chá – kàn dào dǐ
玻璃杯沏茶 – 看到底
Infuse tea in a glass – see the bottom; see through something

bào mǐ huā qī chá – pào tāng le
爆米花沏茶 – 泡汤了
Infuse tea with pop rice – come to nothing; fall through

chá bēi lǐ fàng kuài táng – shòu mìng bù cháng
茶杯里放块糖 – 寿命不长
Put a piece of sugar in a teacup – have a short life

fú wù yuán shàng chá – hé pán tuō chū
服务员上茶 – 和盘托出
A waiter comes to serve tea – reveal everything; hold nothing back

chá hú lǐ hǎn yuān – hú (hú) nào
茶壶里喊冤 – 胡（壶）闹
Cry out about one's grievances in a teapot – act wildly; do mischief; make trouble (The characters "胡" and "壶" share the same pronunciation in Chinese. "胡" means "wildly" and "壶" refers to "tea pot".)

chá hú lǐ zhǔ guà miàn – nán lāo
茶壶里煮挂面 – 难捞
Cooking fine dried noodles in a teapot – difficult to get something