Chinese allegories concerning 'tea'

　　Chinese allegories

　　歇后語

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–無味

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

gǔn shuǐ pào chá– yòu nóng yòu xiāng

滾水泡茶–又濃又香

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–泡湯了

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

chábēi lǐ fàng kuài táng – shòu mìng bùcháng

茶杯里放塊糖–壽命不長

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

fúwùyuán shàng chá– hépán tuō chū

服務(wù)員上茶–和盤托出

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

cháhúlǐ hǎn yuān – hú(hú) nào

茶壺里喊冤–胡(壺)鬧

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

cháhúlǐ zhǔ guàmiàn – nán lāo

茶壺里煮掛面–難撈

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