Folk Similes (xiēhòuyǔ) – Examples

孔夫子搬家 ——〈尽是书〉尽是输

Kǒngfūzǐ bānjiā —— jìn shì shū

Confucius moving his house –– (lit) it´s all books
(pun) lose all the time [at gambling]

脱裤子放屁 —— 多此一举

tuō kùzi fàngpì —— duō cǐ yī jǔ

Removing one´s pants to break wind –– engaging in a superfluous procedure

天津卫的包子 —— 狗不理

Tiānjīnwèi de bāozi —— Gǒubùlǐ

Bāozi [dumplings] from Tiānjīn —— <by Gǒubùlǐ>
(pun, Dialect) extremly unpopular

包子 bāozi, steamed stuffed dumplings, are a typical Chinese snack. The most delicious bāozi are said to be produced by Gǒubùlǐ, a restaurant which was established in Tianjin in 1858. The story behind the name of the restaurant – which has branches in Beijing – may be found here. This Chinese Allegory originates from Beijing and is used ironically to describe a very unpopular person.

孔夫子的徒弟 ——〈贤人〉闲人

Kǒngfūzǐ de túdi —— xiánrén

Confucius' disciples –– (lit) virtuous persons
(pun) idle loafers

和尚打伞 ——〈无发无天〉无法无天

héshang dǎsǎn ––– <wú fà wú tiān> wú fǎ wú tiān

A monk opening an umbrella –– (lit) without hair, without sky
(pun/coll) having [regard for] neither [earthly] law nor heaven[ly] principle

狗咬耗子——多管闲事

Gǒu yǎo hàozi——duō guǎn xiánshì

A dog catching rats –– too meddlesome;
wasting one´s time on trivial matters that do not concern one

包公审案——铁面无私

Bāogōng shěn'àn——tiěmiàn–wúsī

Magistrate Bao trying a case –– a face as impartial as cast iron [a Northern Song dynasty official proverbially exemplifying uprightness]

王麻子的剪刀 —— 冒充的多

Wáng Mázi de jiǎndāo —— màochōng de duō

Pockmarked Wang [trademark] knives and scissors –– most of them are fakes [The knife-and-scissor shop of Pockmarked Wang in Beijing became famous early in the Ming dynasty, later giving rise to countless counterfeits of this wellknown trademark]