Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings. Larry Herzberg

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      The mouth is the door to disaster; the tongue is the knife that can kill you.

      Kǒu shì huò zhī mén, shé wéi zhǎn shēn dāo.

      口是祸之门，舌为斩身刀。

      You only get criticized if you open your mouth too much; troubles all come from trying to show off.

      Shìfēi zhǐ wèi duō kāikǒu, fánnǎo jiē yīn qiáng chūtóu.

      是非只为多开口，烦恼皆因强出头。

      Don’t cross the river before rolling up your trouser legs; don’t open your mouth before knowing the true state of things.

      Bù juǎn kùjiǎo, bù guòhé; bùmō dǐxì, bù kāi qiāng.

      不卷裤脚不过河；不摸底细不开腔。

      About matters that don’t concern you, don’t open your mouth; when questioned, shake your head and say you know nothing about it.

      (Don’t comment on the affairs of others when they don’t concern you.)

      Bú gàn jǐ shì, bù zhāngkǒu; yíwèn yáotóu sānbùzhī.

      不干己事，不张口；一问摇头三不知。

      Close your mouth and hide your tongue, and you can settle down safely anywhere.

      (Cautious speech will keep you safe from harm.)

      Bì kǒu shēn cáng shé, ānshēn chùchù láo.

      闭口深藏舌，安身处处牢。

      A closed mouth keeps flies from flying in.

      (If you keep your mouth shut, you can’t get into trouble.)

      Bìzhe de zuǐ fēibújìn cāngyīng.

      闭着的嘴飞不进苍蝇。

      Foolish people wag their tongues; wise people use their brains.

      Chǔnrén jiáoshé; zhìzhě dòngnǎo.

      蠢人嚼舌；智者动脑。

      Don’t eat excessive amounts of food; don’t indulge in excessive talk.

      Guòtóu de fàn bié chī, guòtóu de huà bié jiǎng.

      过头的饭别吃，过头的话别讲。

      When meeting people, say only 30% [of what you’re thinking]; don’t toss out everything that’s in your mind.

      Féng rén zhǐ shuō sān fēn huà, wèi kě quán pāo yípiàn xīn.

      逢人只说三分话，未可全抛一片心。

      GOSSIP AND SLANDER

      You can hold other people’s hands [down], but you can’t get them to hold their tongues.

      [lit.: What you can hold down is people’s hands; what you can’t suppress is other people’s mouths.]

      (You can’t stop others from talking; secrets will eventually come out.)

      Nádezhù de shì shǒu, yǎnbuzhù de shì kǒu.

      拿得住的是手，掩不住的是口。

      A tongue may weigh little, but it can crush a man.

      (Gossip is a fearful thing that can do great harm.)

      Shétóu dǐxià yāsǐ rén.

      舌头底下压死人。

      Who is never gossiped about behind his back, and who never gossips about people to others?

      (No one is exempt from gossip, since everyone loves to talk about other people.)

      Shéi rén bèi hòu wú rén shuō, nǎ ge rén qián bù shuō rén?

      谁人背后无人说，哪个人前不说人?

      Kind words need not be spoken behind people’s backs; words spoken behind people’s backs are rarely kind.

      Hǎo huà bù bèi rén, bèi rén méi hǎo huà.

      好话不背人，背人没好话。

      It is preferable to believe there’s some truth to a rumor than to believe that there’s nothing there.

      Níng kě xìn qí yǒu, bù kě xìn qí wú.

      宁可信其有，不可信其无。

      After something has passed through three mouths, even snakes are said to have grown legs.

      (Every rumor becomes exaggerated to a ridiculous point and is not to be believed.)

      Huà jīng sān zhāng zuǐ, cháng chóng yě zhǎng tuǐ.

      话经三张嘴，长虫也长腿。

      TACTFULNESS

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