Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 囫囵吞枣 (Húlúntūnzǎo)

Cóngqián, yǒu gè rén zì yǐwéi hěn cōngmíng, jué de zìjǐ kàn guò hěnduō shū, dǒng dé hěn duō dàolǐ. Yì tiān, tā hé péngyǒu men zài yìqǐ liáotiān. Yí gè rén kàn zhe zhuō shàng de lí hé zǎo, gǎnkǎi de shuō:” nǐ kàn, zhèlí duì yáchǐ yǒu hǎo chù, dànshì chī duō le shāng pí; chī zǎo què xiàng fǎn, zǎo kěyǐ jiànpí, kěxī chī duō le shāng yá. Zhè shìjiè shàng hěn shǎo yǒu liǎngquán-qíměi de shì ér ā.” Dàjiā dōu juéde tā shuō dé yǒu dàolǐ, kěshì zhè gè “cōngmíng rén” què shuō:” zhè hái bú jiǎndān? chī lí de shíhòu, zhī jiáo bú yān; chī zǎo de shíhòu, zhī tūn bù jiáo, bú jiù xíng le!” Qí tā rén tīng le hā hā dà xiào:” Nǐ bǎ zǎo húlún zhe tūn xiàqù, néng xiāohuà ma? zhèyàng duì pí méi hǎochù ā!” Zhè gè rén tīng le yǐhòu, wú huà kě shuō.
从前，有个人自以为很聪明，觉得自己看过很多书，懂得很多道理。一天，他和朋友们在一起聊天。一个人看着桌上的梨和枣，感慨地说：“你看，这梨对牙齿有好 处，但是吃多了伤脾；吃枣却相反，枣可以健脾，可惜吃多了伤牙。这世界上很少有两全其美的事儿啊。”大家都觉得他说得有道理，可是这个“聪明人”却说： “这还不简单？吃梨的时候，只嚼不咽；吃枣的时候，只吞不嚼，不就行了！”其他人听了哈哈大笑：“你把枣囫囵着吞下去，能消化吗？这样对脾没好处啊！”这 个人听了以后，无话可说。

Swallow dates whole—-read hastily and without thinking; gulp down without thought
once upon a time there was a man who thought himself very intelligent, learned, and wise. One day he was chatting with some friends, and one of them looked at the pears and dates on the table and said with a sigh, "See, these pears are good for your teeth but eating too many will harm the spleen. Dates are the opposite. Dates are good for the spleen but eating too many will ruin your teeth. In this world you can't have it both ways." Everyone felt that what he said was very true. However, the "intelligent" man remarked, "What a simple matter! When eating pears, simply chew and do not swallow; when eating dates, simply swallow and do not chew." The others laughed heartily when they heard this, saying, "If you swallow the date whole, will it digest? Of course it will do your spleen no good!" Upon hearing their words, the man fell silent.

Words：
自以为zìyǐwéi: think oneself as ( v. )
感慨gǎnkǎi: sign with emotion ( v.)
伤shāng: harm ( v.)
健jiàn: stengthen ( v.)
两全其美liǎngquánqíměi: have it both ways (idiom)
嚼jiáo: chew (v.)
咽 yàn: swallow (v.)
吞tūn: swallow sth whole without chewing ( v.)

Meanings：
囫囵：整个儿。“囫囵吞枣”指不嚼碎就把枣整个咽下去。比喻对事物不进行分析思考。
"囫囵(húlún)": whole. 囫囵吞枣(Húlún Tūn Zǎo) means to swallow dates whole without chewing them. It is a metaphor for taking things in without analysis or understanding.
Sentences：

1.Wǒ yě bù zhīdào nà běn shū hǎo bù hǎo, zhīshì húlún-tūnzǎo de kàn le yī biàn.
我也不知道那本书好不好，只是囫囵吞枣地看了一遍。

I also don't know whether the book is good or not; I read through it in a "囫囵吞枣" fashion.

2．Tā húlún-tūnzǎo sìde xué wán le zhè mén kè, méi jìzhù shénme dōngxī.
他囫囵吞枣似的学完了这门课，没记住什么东西。

He completed the course like "囫囵吞枣" and doesn't remember anything from it.