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Home Practical Chinese Daily Figurative Slangs (2)
Daily Figurative Slangs (2)
Learn Chinese - Practical Chinese
日惯用语 (2)

半路出家
Become a monk or nun late in life
【注音】bàn lù chū jiā
【解释】“出家”本是佛家语,表示“当了和尚”或“做了尼姑”。半路出家则用来表示中途改行,换了职业。
bàn lù chū jiā was originally a buddhism term, meaning “become a monk or nun”. It’s now used as a metaphor for a change of profession or switch to a job one was not trained for.


【例子】
例:
A:张先生,有个学术问题请教您一下,您是专家。
B:不敢不敢,我哪儿是什么专家呀。
A:怎么不是,你写了那么多的文章,学问那么大。
B:哪儿敢说什么学问呀,我只不过是半路出家。
Ex.:
A:Professor Zhang, I’d like to consult you on an academic question since you are the expert.
B:Don’t you say so, I’m not an expert.
A:Of course you are. You have so many thesis published and such great learning.
B:I wouldn’t say any great learning. I was not trained for this profession but only switched to it late in my life.

帮倒忙
Be more of a hindrance than a help
【注音】bāng dào máng
【解释】用一句幽默话说,就是“越帮越忙”。
To put it humorously, “the more you help me, the busier I become.”
   
【例子】
例:
A:小李,你帮我看看,我的电脑出了什么问题,老死机。
B:你让我帮忙那是帮倒忙。
Ex.:
A:Xiao Li, could you do me a favor and check my computer? See what’s the problem that it becomes dead at every turn.
B:You asked the wrong preson. I’ll only make it even worse.
 

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