【摘 要】習(xí)語是某一語言在使用過程中形成的獨(dú)特的固定的表達(dá)方式。它通常包括成語、俗語、格言、歇后語、俚語、諺語、行話等。英漢兩種語言歷史悠久，包含著大量的習(xí)語，它們或含蓄、幽默、或嚴(yán)肅、典雅，不僅言簡(jiǎn)意賅，而且形象生動(dòng)，妙趣橫生，給人一種美的享受。習(xí)語是語言的精華，它帶有濃厚的民族色彩和鮮明的文化內(nèi)涵。由于地理、歷史、宗教信仰、生活習(xí)俗等方面的差異，英漢習(xí)語承載著不民的民族文化特色和文化信息，翻譯時(shí)既涉及兩種不同的文化背景，又涉及兩種語言的表達(dá)習(xí)慣。因此對(duì)英語讀者和漢語讀者來說，做到徹底且精確地理解蘊(yùn)涵深刻文化內(nèi)涵的習(xí)語的翻譯是比較困難的。本文首先從修辭方法方面分析的英漢習(xí)語的相似性，然后分別從生存環(huán)境、習(xí)俗、歷史典故、宗教信仰等四個(gè)方面的差異來比較和分析英漢習(xí)語所存在的差異，接著概括了英漢習(xí)語互譯中存在的的典型問題，最后針對(duì)存在問題探索出英漢習(xí)語互譯的最佳方法。整篇論文的意義在于盡可能地傳遞習(xí)語中的文化信息，對(duì)習(xí)語的理解及翻譯具有指導(dǎo)意義。

【關(guān)鍵詞】習(xí)語 對(duì)比 翻譯

A Comparative Study Between English and Chinese Idioms and Their Translation

Thesis Statement

Idiom not only appears largely in literary works，but also in political and scientific thesis .The qualities of the idioms translation directly affects the whole translation. So it is essential to study the idioms and their methods of translation

Outline

Ⅰ. Introduction

Ⅱ. The Similarity between English and Chinese Idioms in Rhetorical Means

A. Rhyme B. Repetition C. Alliteration D. Antithesis

Ⅲ.The Differences between English and Chinese Idioms

A. Different Living Circumstances

B. Different Cognitions of Things

1. Different Cognitions of Animals 2. Different Cognitions of Colors 3. Different cognitions of Numerals

C. Different Religions and Beliefs

D. Different Historical Allusions and myths

Ⅳ. The Problems in English-Chinese and Chinese- English Idioms Translation

A.The Problems in English-Chinese Idioms Translation

1. Copying Chinese Customary Saying Mechanically 2. Translating the English Idioms too Literally

B. The problems in Chinese- English idioms Translation

1. Copying the English Meaning in the Dictionary Mechanically 2. Neglecting the Chinese Idiom Local or National Colors in the Translation

Ⅴ. Methods used in Idiom Translation

A. Literal Translation with Explanation B. Literal Translation with Association

C. Transformation of Meaning D. Application of Chinese Couplet

Ⅵ. Conclusion

Ⅰ. Introduction

Idioms are the essence of a language，which are always philosophical and eternal. According to Oxford Advantaged learner's English-Chinese Dictionary，an idiom is \" a phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit \".

“In the broad sense，idioms may include： set phrases； proverbs； saying； epigrams； slang expressions； colloquialisms； quotations； two-part allegorical sayings，of which the first part，always stated，is descriptive，while the second part，sometimes unstated，carries the message （ chiefly in Chinese ）. While in Chinese，idioms are calls `熟語`，including：短語、成語（usually consisting of four words）、俗語、諺語、格言、名言（quotation or recorded utterance）、警句、俚語、粗話、行話、歇后語（including pun）、習(xí)語，etc.”（郭著章，李慶生 132）

However，the thesis will discuss English and Chinese idioms in a narrow sense，and only set phrases and proverbs will be under discussion.

English and Chinese idioms are gems of the two languages as well as the crystallization of the two national cultures. They often contain distinctive national and local colors，some idioms have quite clear meanings，some are implicit and profound，which could ask for some association，while others may include several meanings，which depend on the context to define its real indication.

Both English and Chinese idioms have different kinds of rhetorical means in itself. Many idioms have symmetrical forms，beautiful syllables and harmonious rhythms. All these features give rise to the difficulties in translation： it is more difficult to understand and more challenging to convey the cultural information clearly and exactly than the common language，however，in order to keep the translation faithful，these features should be preserved. Not only do idioms appear largely in works，but also in political and scientific thesis. The qualities of the idioms translation directly affect the whole translation. So it is essential to study the idioms and their translation methods.

Ⅱ. The similarity between English and Chinese Idioms in Rhetorical Means

Although there are some \"cultural distance\" between English and Chinese，there are some similarities too，and it shows in many aspects. Now，this thesis will analyzes the English and Chinese idioms similarity from the view of rhetorical means.

Both English and Chinese idioms usually adopt rhetorical means，such as Rhyme，Repetition，Alliteration，Antithesis，etc.

A. Rhyme

“Rhyme is the sameness of sound between words or syllable”（牛津高階英漢雙解詞典-第四增補(bǔ)版 1291），which sounds very beautiful. Some English and Chinese idioms use this method to achieve the acoustic enjoyment. For example：

In Chinese，there are “不經(jīng)一事，不長(zhǎng)一智；差之毫厘，謬以千里；失之東隅，收之桑榆”etc. Which use the means of rhyme. In English，we also can find it in \" A friend in need is a friend indeed \"，\"East or west，home is best\"，\"Health is better than wealth\"（ 陳志立 2），\"art and part （策劃并參與）\"，\"fair and square\"， \"Might makes right\"（平洪，張國揚(yáng) 25），etc.

The reason why both English and Chinese idioms use this rhetorical means is that not only are they easy to remember，but also it seems that we are reading a beautiful short poem.

B. Repetition

In rhetoric，\"repetition is a commonly seen rhetorical device，which usually repeats a sentence or part of sentence at both the beginning and end of long sentences，stanzas or paragraphs. The main function of repetition is to emphasize the key points.\"（ 馮翠華 74）. Both English and Chinese idioms use this method to achieve the emphatic effect. The examples are like the following：

In Chinese，there are “落落大方，沾沾自喜，亭亭玉立，多多益善，姍姍來遲，想入非非，喜氣洋洋，信誓旦旦”，etc. In English，there are \" step by step（循序漸進(jìn)）；measure for measure（針鋒相對(duì)）；neck and neck（并駕齊驅(qū)）；an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth（以眼還眼，以牙還牙）；call a spade a spade（直言不諱）\"（平洪，張國陽 25 ）ect.

Using the means of repetition makes the idioms have obviously emphatic object. Their meanings will be clear at a glance.

C. Alliteration

According to the Oxford Advantaged Learners' English-Chinese Dictionary \"Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of two or more words in succession\"，this sounds continual and is easy to read and to remember. Let's look at some examples.

In Chinese，there are“恍恍惚惚，紅紅火火，乒乒乓乓 ”，etc. In English，there also are \"as busy as bee\"（忙個(gè)不停），\"as good as gold\"，\"as still as a stone\"（固若金湯），\"might and main\"（竭盡全力），\"tit for tat\"（以牙還牙），\"Money makes the mare go\"（有錢能讓鬼推磨），etc.

Through the above examples，we may see that both English and Chinese idioms are popular by this means.

D. Antithesis

In the opinion of Feng Cuihua（馮翠華）in her work，English Rhetorical Opinions \"Antithesis is the deliberation arrangement of contrasting words or ideas in balanced structural forms to achieve force and emphasis. The form of the expression is very important for effect，for the force of the emphasis，whether for profundity of judgment，for humor or for satire，depends chiefly on the juxtaposition of direct opposites，of glaring contrasts.\"（37）. Many idioms adopt this device. The examples below illustrate the point：

In Chinese，there are“大同小異，古往今來，里應(yīng)外合，冷嘲熱諷，顧此失彼，因大失小，陰奉陽違 ”，etc. In English，there are \" more or less\"（或多或少），\"far and near\"（四面八方），\"ups and downs\"（盛衰沉?。?，\"sooner or later\"（遲早），etc.

Through this kind of idioms have only a few words，they contain much truth and philosophy in them，which makes the readers have lots of aftertaste while pondering over them.

Ⅲ.The Differences between English and Chinese Idioms

English-speaking and Chinese-speaking countries are two different nations，so there exists vast differences between English and Chinese culture and this difference occurs in English and Chinese idioms，too.

A. Different Living Circumstances

Idioms are closely related to people's work and life，so the idioms have strong national colors. Britain is an island country on the Atlantic ocean，surrounded by sea，which was once leading the world with its navigation，so lots of English idioms have something to do with navigation and fish .Such as： a drop in the ocean \"滄海一粟 \"； between the devil and deep sea \"進(jìn)退維谷 \"； go with the stream \"隨波逐流 \"； as close as an oyster \"守口如瓶 \"； feel under the water \"感覺不適 \". While

“China is an agricultural country. The peasants have presented many idioms about farm work，such as '斬草除根 'which is translated literally into 'to cut the weeds and dig up the roots'，its figurative meaning is in 'to stamp out the source of the trouble'.

More examples：

‘撿了芝麻，丟了西瓜’（its original meaning is to pick up the sesame seeds，but overlook the watermelons； its extended meaning is' mindful of small matters to neglect of large ones'）” （Liu Jinding 4），etc.

Typically speaking，English people use \"spend money like water\" to describe someone who wastes money on something，while Chinese people say \"揮金如土 \". As Ran Xiuxia's words in her text，Cultural Differences in English and Chinese Idioms \"However many idioms concerning boats and water cannot be given the same equivalents in Chinese，such as，to rest on one's oars（暫時(shí)歇一歇 ），to keep one's head above water（奮力圖存 ），all at sea （不知所措 ），etc.\"（4）

Due to the geographical and environmental factors，the bamboo shoots grow abundantly in China，thus there are some idioms concerning bamboo. On the contrary，bamboo doesn't grow in British island at all，so that there is no English idiom concerning bamboo. For example，\" the Chinese idiom '雨后春筍 ' is translated into spring up like mushrooms' \"（涂沙麗 2 ）in English.

“ In Chinese culture，'east wind ' is ' the wind of spring'； summer is always connected with extremely hot and intense heat，so ‘赤日炎炎似火燒 ’‘驕陽似火’ are often used to describe summer. While Britain is located in western hemisphere，with North Temperate Zone and marine climate，so ' west wind ' is the symbol of spring. The famous English poet Shirley's 'Ode to west wind' is a praising song of spring. Summer in Britain is a warm and comfortable season，which is usually linked with 'lovely' 'gentle' and 'nice'. Shakespeare compares thee to a summer in one of his poems，' Shall I compare thee to a summer's day？ Thou art more lovely and more temperate' ”（冉秀霞 1 ）.

So different living surroundings may produce different idioms in different language and culture.

B. Different Cognitions of Things

Thanks to the differences between eastern and western cultures，people have greatly different of the same thing，which makes a great influence on the English and Chinese idioms.

1. Different Cognitions of Animals

English and Chinese belong to two different language families. They have greatly difference. The most typical aspect is the attitude to the dog in Chinese usually have derogatory meanings，such as “狐朋狗友”、“狗急跳墻”、“狼心狗肺”、“狗腿子”、“狗嘴里吐不出象牙”、“狗咬呂洞賓，不識(shí)好人心”、“狗偷鼠竊”etc. While in English country，dog stands for honest，kindness. The dogs are good friends of people. There are \" Lucy-dog\"（幸運(yùn)兒），\"Every dog has his day\"（凡人皆有得意日），\" old dogs will learn new tricks\"（老狗學(xué)不了新東西），\"An old dog barks not in vain\"（老狗不亂吠），\"sick as a dog\"（病的厲害），\"dog-tried\"（累極的），\"Love me，love my dog\"（愛屋及烏），etc.

On the contrary，Chinese people like cat quietly，such as a dog“饞貓”（比喻貪嘴常有親昵的成分）.In western countries，cats are usually used to be compared the bad women or some things which are not good. Such as \"barber's cat\"（喻指面有病容饑色的人），\"old cat\"（喻指壞脾氣的老太婆），\"friary-cat\"（膽小鬼），\"singe cat\"（給人不良印象的人），\"cat around\"（尋歡作樂，尋花問柳）\" as sleek as a cat\"（花言巧語），\" Don't be cat\"（別那么損人）（平洪，張國揚(yáng) 94），etc.

Another example，the cattle had once done great contributions to Chinese agriculture in history，so there are some idioms concerning this animal，such as，etc. For the English，horse is used as an important tool，whose merits and contributions are outstanding. Thus there are a great number of idioms concerning horse，such as，\"dark horse\"，\"eat like a horse\"，\"as strong as a horse\"， \"bet on the wrong horse\"，\"hold one's horse\"，\"change horse in mid stream\"，etc.

2. Different Cognitions of Colors

Due to the different countries' historical backgrounds，geographical locations，customs and translations，people have different cognitions of colors，so the idioms concerning colors have diverse symbol in different countries.

Taking “red” and \"white\" for example：

In western countries，red is regards as brutality and unluckiness. Red means bleeding，so there appears some words with derogatory and taboo color，such as “red skin（對(duì)印第安人的鄙稱），red tape（繁文縟節(jié)），in the red（赤字），out of red（扭虧為盈），red alert（空襲），red cock（縱火引起的火災(zāi)），read cent（毫無價(jià)值的事物），etc.”（劉偉強(qiáng)3）.

While in China，red means luck and joy. There are many Chinese idioms about it，such as，“開門紅（get off to have a good start），紅顏薄命（a beautiful girl has an unfortunate life），紅運(yùn)當(dāng)頭（have a good luck），紅光滿面（a person who has good health and mood），紅極一時(shí)（enjoy popularity for a time），紅裝素裹（clad in white，adorned in red）”（顧紅曦，劉玲）ect.

People in western countries look upon white as the symbol of purity. In English there are： white hat（好人），white lies（善意的謊言），white-headed boy（寵兒），the white hope（帶來榮譽(yù)的人），etc. However it is different in China. In Chinese's eyes，white stands for funeral and revolt，which is derogatory color. For example，there are 白日夢(mèng)，白費(fèi)口舌，一窮二白，白忙乎，白字連篇，etc.

3. Different cognitions of Numerals

Numeral worship and taboo exists both in eastern and western countries，however，the people in the two countries have totally different cognitions of numerals.

In the western countries，\"13\" is regarded as an unlucky，number\"7\" stands for good luck，great prosperity and victory. But there is no particular connotation of ‘9’ at all in English. The examples are： in the seventh heaven（極其快樂），the Seventh Day（安息日），etc.

In China，“13”“7” have no special meanings，so there is no taboo usage of them. “ six”（六）“nine”（九）have peculiar cultural connotations to Chinese people. “Nine ” means a long period of peace and order in Chinese traditional culture. There are Chinese idioms concerning “nine”，such as “九九歸一”，“九死一生”etc. “ six ”means that something goes on smoothly in Chinese，There are “六六大順”，“六畜興旺” etc. Meanwhile，Chinese people place the peculiar meaning on the even number，such as “雙喜臨門”，“四季發(fā)財(cái)”，“八面玲瓏”，“十全十美” etc. “It is calculated that there are far more Chinese idioms using numerals than the English idioms，which is difficult problem to the translation.”（張藐3）.

C. Different Religions and Beliefs

Religions play an important role in the development of the language. Different religions produce different idioms. Buddhism has been transmitted into China for more than one thousand years，which occupies the leading position in Chinese traditional religions.

People believe that there is a “Buddha” who can dominate the world and decide everyone’s destiny. Many Chinese idioms come from Buddhism，such as “借花獻(xiàn)佛”，“閑時(shí)不燒香，臨時(shí)抱佛腳”，“佛法無邊”，“不看僧面看佛面”，“放下屠刀，立地成佛” etc.

In western countries，especially in Britain and America，people believe in Christianity. The Bible has been regarded the classical Christian scripture，which plays a very important role in western countries’ culture，art and ideology. Idioms concerning the Bible can be found everywhere. For example，“doubting Thomas”（懷疑的托馬斯）is an idiom from the Bible stands for people who will not believe in others easily. “Go to hell” is a curse. Others are like “‘a(chǎn) lion in the way’，‘Nobody is born learned，even bishops are made of men’，‘It’s better to reign in hell than serve in heaven’，‘the apple of one’s eye’，etc.”（劉慧芬2 ）

Besides，there are many proverbs in English based on the metaphors and themes of God and demon. For example，Man proposes，God disposes （謀事在人，事在天）；God helps those who help themselves（自助者，必有天助）； Every for himself and the devil take hindmost（人不為己天誅地滅）.

D. Different Historical Allusions and myths

There are a lot of idioms coming from historical allusions，myths and legends. The structure of these idioms is very simple but they have profound meanings. So we can not understand and translate these idioms for the literal meaning. It’s necessary to learn and understand the English and Chinese allusions and myths. It’s also useful o learn about the origin development of English and Chinese language and culture.

In Chinese，there are “東施效顰”，“葉公好龍”，“名落孫山”，“愚公移山”，“刻舟求劍”，“嫦娥奔月”，“守株待兔” etc.

While English traditional culture is deeply associated with the Greek myth. For example，“the Trojan Horse （特洛伊木馬）”； “Pandora’s Box（潘多拉之盒，指災(zāi)難，麻煩的根源）”； “Achilles’ heel（阿基里斯的腳后跟，指唯一致命的弱點(diǎn)）”； “meet one’s waterloo（一敗涂地）”（賴碧英 2 ），etc.

“There are also many set phrase based on the Greek Roman legends. For example，I fear the Greeks，even when bringing gift （Greek gift：危險(xiǎn)的禮物）. When Greek meets Greek，then comes the tug of war，homer sometimes nods.”（涂沙麗 2 ）

Ⅳ. The Problems in English-Chinese and Chinese- English Idioms Translation

When we do the idioms translation，we may meet some this kind of or that kind of problems. The thesis will give some typical problems in both English-Chinese and Chinese- English Idioms Translation.

A.The Problems in English-Chinese Idioms Translation

1. Copying Chinese Customary Saying Mechanically

After all，English and Chinese are two completely different languages，. Many English and Chinese idioms always reflect their own national characteristics or local colors. So when doing the translation，we have to pay attention to remain the distinguishing features and avoid copy Chinese customary saying mechanically.

For example：

1）Two heads are better than one

Original translation： 三個(gè)臭皮匠，勝過一個(gè)諸葛亮

2） When the cat’s away，the mice will play

Original translation： 山中無老虎，猴子稱霸王

In the above examples，the original translation impose the strong Chinese national colors on the translated version. We should do some translations like these：

1） Two heads are better than one

Transformed translation： 一個(gè)人不及兩個(gè)智。

2） When the cat’s away，the mice will play

Transformed translation： 貓兒不在，鼠兒作怪。

After some transformations，not only do the English idioms remain the original meanings but also avoid unnecessary conflicts caused by different national culture.

2. Translating the English Idioms too Literally

We often see that some English idioms look very similar to some Chinese idioms in the forms. People are easy to associate the English words and expression with the Chinese meaning and Chinese version mechanically. In fact，in many case，though English and Chinese have the similar forms，they have different meanings.

For examples：

1）Pull somebody’s leg wrong translation： 拉后腿

revised： 開某人玩笑

2）Move heaven and earth wrong translation： 翻天覆地

revised： 想方設(shè)法，千方百計(jì)

The problem often occurs when we do the translation. We should try our best to avoid it and get close to the original implied meaning not only by the literal meaning.

B. The problems in Chinese- English idioms Translation

1. Copying the English Meaning in the Dictionary Mechanically

One idiom may have several translations. The translation of an idiom may have different forms or contents in different dictionary. A dictionary translation needs to reproduce the form and the content of the idiom，while idiom translation needs to be fit for its particular situation. Therefore，we should make some translations instead of copying the translation in a dictionary mechanically.

“usually，the translation of ‘謀事在人，成事在天’is “man proposes，God disposes’. But in the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions，it was rewritten.

‘謀事在人成事在天’，咱們到了，靠菩薩的保佑，有些機(jī)會(huì)也未可知（《紅樓夢(mèng)》第六回）

‘Man proposes，Heaven disposes’. Work out a plan，trust to Buddha，and something may come of it for all you know. （Translated by Yang Xiangyi）” （郭著章，李慶生 134 ）.

Here ‘buddha’ is a Buddhism term，whlie ‘God’ is a Christian term. In order to make the text coherent，‘God’ ia changed into ‘Heaven’.

2. Neglecting the Chinese Idiom Local or National Colors in the Translation

In contexts，idioms which have much local or national color could not be translated equivalently.

“For example：

‘小人有眼不識(shí)泰山，一時(shí)冒瀆兄長(zhǎng)，望乞恕罪.’（《水滸傳》第二十三回）.

The idiom ‘小人有眼不識(shí)泰山’ is similar in meaning to ‘to entertain an angel unawares’. But both of the two idioms have much local color. “泰山”（Mount Tai）which is a geographical term is one of the famous mountains in China. The idiom means ‘to fail to identify a person of a great ability’. The idiom ‘to entertain an angel unawares’ is from The New Testament. The original meanings is ‘to be not forceful to entertain strangers，for there by some have entertained angels unawares.’ It can be translated into‘有眼無珠’. Therefore，Jackson translated the sentence like this：

‘I failed to recognize your eminence and I hope that you will forgive me for that blunder.’”（Liu Jinding 9）

Ⅴ. Methods used in Idiom Translation

The translation of English and Chinese idioms is an extremely important problem. Translation of idioms is not only the communication between the two languages，but also the communication and the transmission of the two kinds of the cultural information. Idioms contain a great number of culture characteristics and cultural backgrounds. Therefore，idioms as “the essence of the language” are difficult to understand and even more difficult to translate.

According to researching and reading a vast books and works about the translation of idioms，there are four methods I summary be used in idioms translation.

A. Literal Translation with Explanation

It is difficult for Chinese readers to understand the implied meaning thoroughly when some English idioms are translated freely，their original images and styles can not be preserved. To adopt the literal translation with explanation，not can the readers see its original meaning and styles，but also see their implied meaning. Though the translation will be wordy，it could show the original natural colors. Liu Jinding said that this method is often applied to dictionary compiling （10）. For example：

1）An old dog barks not in vain. 老狗不亂吠.（老年人做事有經(jīng)驗(yàn)）

2）A living dog is better than a dead lion. 死獅不如活狗.（凡事要講求實(shí)際）

3）A good dog deserves a good bone. 好狗應(yīng)得好骨頭.（有功者受獎(jiǎng)）

4）Fish begins to stink at the head. 魚要腐爛頭先臭.（上梁不正下梁歪）

It is also difficult for the English readers to understand the implied meanings when some Chinese idioms are translated into English too literally. For example： ‘膏粱子弟’ the children form well- fed families （good –for- nothing sons and daughters of the idle rich）； ‘高層建瓴’ pour water off a steep roof （operate from a strategically advantageous position）.

“Strictly speaking，the translation with explanation is not a good method in translating a piece of works，but in a dictionary of idiom，it necessary to dig out the sources of some idioms. This is one of the differences between translation in dictionary and context.”（Liu Jinding 9）

B. Literal Translation with Association

Because of the culture differences between Chinese-speaking and English-speaking

Countries，although some Chinese idioms and English idioms have the similar connotations or metaphorical meaning，they have different expressions. For these kinds of idioms，literal translation with association is better. What’s more，the literal translation is easy for the readers to associate it with their familiar idioms.

For examples：

1）Never offer to teach fish to swim. 不要教魚兒游泳.（association：不要班門弄斧）

2）Bad workmen often blame their tools. 拙匠常怪工具差.（association： 不會(huì)撐船怪河彎）

3）He who always laughs at crooked men should need walk very straight. 笑別人駝背的人得自己首先把身子挺直.（association：己不正不正人）

The literal translation with association enable the readers to understand the original meanings better and more thoroughly. It’s a good way to do the idiom translation.

C. Transformation of Meaning

Some English idioms and Chinese idioms have more or less equivalent meaning. The only difference between them lies just in their image and styles，and it only need some slight transformation while in the process of translation，and then it could express its original meaning entirely，at the same time，not break the original idioms’ structures and habits.

For example： “瓊自從丈夫死后，有好幾個(gè)月都悲痛欲絕”was translated “For months after her husband’s death，Joan simply ate her heart out”

The Chinese idiom “悲痛欲絕”can be translated like the following： “someone is sad to death”，which is not better than the quotation of English idiom “eat one’s heart out”. It is more vivid to the readers.

Another example：

“One swallow does not make a summer”，its original meaning of the proverb is “only finding one swallow cannot show the coming of summer enough”. There is no completely equivalent proverb in Chinese，but in Chinese there are “一花不是春”“一木不成林”，whose meanings are similar to it，only the images and styles are slightly different.

Form the above examples，we can see that though the original meaning has been slightly changed，the translation turns out to be more vivid，and the reader could have a better understanding.

D. Application of Chinese Couplet

The idioms in Chinese are often seen in the forms of couplet. For example，“路遙知馬力，日久見人心”，“棋逢對(duì)手，將遇良才”etc. But in English，some idioms can not be expressed exactly in the process of translation in a few Chinese characters. It is better for the translators using the form of couplet. For example，“Great men are not always wise”，its literal translation is “偉人也不總是聰明” which means “even the clever person will behave as a fool sometimes”. If we adopt the form of couplet，we can translate it as “智者千慮，必有一失”.

There are more other examples：

1）News comes apace. 好事不出門，壞事傳千里

2）He who keeps company with the wolf will learn to howl. 近朱者赤，近墨者黑

Application of Chinese couplet is a way to use the advantage of Chinese，the translators could express the original meaning exactly and vividly.

Ⅵ. Conclusion

Translation is not only from one language to another，but also to introduce the cultural information，background，habits and customs，cultural traditions. So when we do the translation of idioms which have strong national and local colors，we must keep their cultural characters. That is to say，we should always keep the target readers in mind when we are doing the translation. Therefore，it is not easy to translate one kind of language idioms. We should do more practices，pay more attention and accumulate more knowledge. Beside we should read more world-wide famous works，such as Bible，William Shakespeare’s plays and other classical masterpieces in western culture.

In a word，when translating the idioms，we should keep faithful to the original meanings，remaining the original idiom’s vivid comparison，rich association，and rhetorical effects，national and local colors，meanwhile，we should try out best to do the translation more vivid and more expression.

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