10 Chinese Idioms to English Equivalents

覆水难收fù shuǐ nán shōu
Literal Meaning: Spilt water is hard to recover
English Equivalent: There’s no use crying over spilt milk.

捷足先登 jié zú xiān dēng
Literal Meaning: A fast foot is first to climb.
English Equivalent: The early bird gets the worm.

有其父必有其子 yǒu qí fù bì yǒu qí zǐ
Literal Meaning: The son is like his father.
English Equivalent: Like father, like son.

患难见真情huàn nàn jiàn zhēn qíng
Literal Meaning: In adversity, true feelings are revealed.
English Equivalent: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

不入虎穴，焉得虎子bú rù hǔ xué ，yān dé hǔ zǐ
Literal Meaning: If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how will you get the tiger’s cub?
English Equivalent: No pain, no gain.

人无千日好，花无百日红 rén wú qiān rì hǎo ，huā wú bǎi rì hóng
Literal Meaning: There is no person that has 1000 good days in a row, and no flower that stays red for 100 days.
English Equivalent: All good things come to an end.

入乡随俗 rù xiāng suí sú
Literal Meaning: When entering a village, follow its customs.
English Equivalent: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

熟能生巧 shú néng shēng qiǎo
Literal Meaning: Experience can give way to skill.
English Equivalent: Practice makes perfect.

五十步笑百步wǔ shí bù xiào bǎi bù
Literal Meaning: Fifty steps laugh at one hundred steps.
English Equivalent: The pot calling the kettle black.

一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳 yī cháo bèi shé yǎo ，shí nián pà jǐng shéng
Literal Meaning: Bitten by a snake on one morning, scared by the rope in ten years.
English Equivalent: once bitten, twice shy.