Chinese allegories
歇后語
Two-part allegorical saying (of which the first part, always stated, is descriptive, while the second part, often unstated, carries the message)

k?ng fū zǐ chuān xī zhuāng – bù t? bù yáng
孔夫子穿西裝 – 不土不洋
Confucius in Western-style clothes – neither fish nor flesh

jí xìng zi pèng dào màn xìng zi – nǐ jí tā bù jí
急性子碰到慢性子 – 你急他不急
An impetuous person comes across a slowcoach. – One is impatient to do something but the other not.

hu? shāo méi mao – gù y?n qián
火燒眉毛 – 顧眼前
The fire is singeing the eyebrows. – concentrate on immediate matters.

h?i dǐ lāo yuè – bái fèi jìn
海底撈月 – 白費勁
Try to fish out the moon from the bottom of the sea – strive for the impossible or illusory; efforts in vain

guān cai shàng huà l?o hǔ – xià sǐ rén
棺材上畫老虎 – 嚇死人
Paint a tiger on a coffin – (literally) frighten the dead; (as a pun) frighten somebody to death

guān cai lǐ shēn sh?u – sǐ yào qián
棺材里伸手 – 死要錢
Reach out a hand for money even in one's coffin – be greedy unto death; be a money-grubber

fēng chuī dēng long – yáo b?i bù dìng
風吹燈籠 – 搖擺不定
The wind blows a lantern. – (literally) swing to and fro; (figuratively) blow hot and cold; vacillate; waver

fēi jī shàng di?n dēng – gāo míng
飛機上點燈 – 高明
Light a lamp in the airplane – 高 means "high" while 明 refers to "bright". When the two Chinese characters put together, the word "高明" means "brilliant, wise". This allegory is always used to imply it's brilliant to do something.

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