Chinese allegories concerning 'tea'

　　Chinese allegories

　　歇后语

These are two-part allegorical sayings. The first part, which is always stated, is the literal meaning of the expression. The second part is the unstated, implied meaning of the expression.

lĕng shuǐ pào chá– wúwèi

冷水泡茶–无味

Make tea with unboiled water – Literally, unpleasant tasting; tasteless. Figuratively, uninteresting

gǔn shuǐ pào chá– yòu nóng yòu xiāng

滚水泡茶–又浓又香

Make tea with boiling water – of rich flavor; of strong fragrance or aroma

bō li bēi qī chá– kàn dào dǐ

玻璃杯沏茶–看到底

Infuse tea in a glass – see the bottom; see through something

bào mǐ huā qī chá– pào tāng le

爆米花沏茶–泡汤了

Infuse tea with pop rice – come to nothing; fall through

chábēi lǐ fàng kuài táng – shòu mìng bùcháng

茶杯里放块糖–寿命不长

Put a piece of sugar in a teacup – have a short life

fúwùyuán shàng chá– hépán tuō chū

服务员上茶–和盘托出

A waiter comes to serve tea – reveal everything; hold nothing back

cháhúlǐ hǎn yuān – hú(hú) nào

茶壶里喊冤–胡(壶)闹

Cry out about one's grievances in a teapot – act wildly; do mischief; make trouble (The characters "胡" and "壶" share the same pronunciation in Chinese. "胡" means "wildly" and "壶" refers to "tea pot".)

cháhúlǐ zhǔ guàmiàn – nán lāo

茶壶里煮挂面–难捞

Cooking fine dried noodles in a teapot – difficult to get something