Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 郑人买履 (Zhèngrénmǎilǚ)

Yǒu gè Zhèngguó rén xiǎng yào mǎi yì shuāng xiézǐ. Tā zài chūfā qián xiān liàng hǎo zìjǐ jiǎo de chǐmǎ, ránhòu bǎ chǐmǎ fàng dào le zuòwèi shàng. Tā líkāi jiā qù jíshì, què wàng le dài chǐmǎ, xuǎn hǎo xié yǐ hòu cái xiǎng qǐ. Yúshì, tā duì lǎobǎn shuō:”wǒ wàng le dài liàng hǎo de chǐmǎ.” Ránhòu gǎnjǐn huíjiā qùqǔ. Děng tā huí lái de shíhòu jíshì yǐjīng guānmén le, yě jiù méiyǒu mǎi dào xié. Yǒu rén wèn tā:” nǐ wèi shénme bú yòng zìjǐ de jiǎo lái shìshì xiézǐ ne?” Tā huídá shuō:” wǒ níngyuàn xiàngxìn chǐmǎ, yě bù xiàngxìn zìjǐ de jiǎo.”
有个郑国人想要买一双鞋子。他在出发前先量好自己脚的尺码，然后把尺码放到了座位上。他离开家去集市，却忘了带尺码，选好鞋以后才想起。于是，他对老板 说：“我忘了带量好的尺码。”然后赶紧回家去取。等他回来的时候集市已经关门了，也就没有买到鞋。有人问他：“你为什么不用自己的脚来试试鞋子呢？”他回 答说：“我宁愿相信尺码，也不相信自己的脚。”

There was a man from the state of Zheng who wanted to buy a pair of shoes. Before he set off, he measured the size of his feet, then putting the measures on the seat. He left the house to go to the market, but forgot to take the measures. He didn't notice this until he have chosen his shoes. He said to the seller:" I have forgotten to bring my measures.", and hurried back to fetch them. When he returned, the market had already closed and he could not buy the shoes. People asked him:" Why didn't you use your own feet to try on the shoes?" He replied:" I would rather trust the measures than my own feet."

Words：
量liáng: measure（v. ）
尺码chǐmǎ: size; measures（n.）
集市jíshì: bazaar（n.）
带dài: take（v.）
取qǔ: fetch（v.）
试shì：try （v.）
宁愿nìngyuàn：would rather
也不yěbù： nor
Meanings：

这个故事讽刺了有些人做事只相信刻板的教条，不懂得根据实际情况灵活变通。

This story satirizes those who follow certain inflexible rules too strictly, and do not know how to adapt to the circumstances.

Sentences：

1. Yù dào wèntí shí wǒmen yīnggāi suíjī- yìngbiàn, bù néng fàn zhèngrénmǎilǚ de cuòwù.
遇到问题时我们应该随机应变，不能犯郑人买履的错误。

When we come across a problem, we should adapt to the situation. We must not make the same mistake as Zhèngrénmǎilǚ.

2. Zuò shì shí dōu yào gēnjù shíjì qíngkuàng, línghuó chùlǐ, fǒuzé jiù huì nào zhèngrénmǎilǚ de xiàohuà.
做事时都要根据实际情况，灵活处理，否则就会闹郑人买履的笑话。

Dealing with matters, one must act flexibly according to the real situation; otherwise one may get laughed at like Zhèngrénmǎilǚ.