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List of Chinese proverbs
[[fr:Proverbes chinois]] [[zh:&#27463;&#24460;&#35486;]]

These are the humble beginnings of a collection of [[China|Chinese]] [[Proverb|proverbs]] (&#27463;&#24460;&#35486; in [[pinyin]]: xie4 hou4 yu3; &#35578;&#35486; yan4 yu3) and idioms, given in (and sorted by) [[pinyin]] transcription. Formulaic saying/expressions (&#25104;&#35486; cheng2 yu3 -- ''"to become a saying"'') are known as [[four-character idiom]]s (exceptions exist in(contracted; show full)

:&#30059;&#34503;&#28155;&#36275;
:&#30011;&#34503;&#28155;&#36275; (pinyin: hua4 she2 tian1 zu2) 
:* Literally: Adding legs when painting a snake.
:* Moral: Don't ruin your work by an unnecessary addition.
:* English: Gilding the Lily (a Lily having its own natural beauty would not be improved by gold-plating).


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:&#31354;&#31348;&#26469;&#39118;&#26410;&#24517;&#26080;&#22240; (pinyin: kong1 xue4 lai2 feng2 wei4 bi4 wu2 yin1) 
:* Literally: if [[wind]] comes from an empty [[cave]], it's not without a reason.
:* Moral: Most seemingly strange events and actions have [[logic]]al explanations.

:&#32769;&#39525;&#20239;&#27370;&#65292;&#24535;&#22312;&#21315;&#37324;
(contracted; show full)
:* Literally: no one knows a [[son]] better than the [[father]].
:* Moral: Having spent [[decade]]s with each other, family members know what type of persons each others are. "Sons" and "fathers" also apply to the [[female]] equivalents.
:* Usage: Character witness in a trial. Despite his/her denial, an honest parent can tell if their children are capable of heinous [[crime]]s, like [[murder]].

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==[[Cantonese language |Cantonese]] proverbs==
sorted alphabetically by the [[penkyamp]], a Cantonese Romanization.

:&#22909;&#24515;&#20871;&#22909;&#22577;&#65292;&#22909;&#26612;&#29138;&#29211;&#28790; (penkyamp: How2 samp1 mow5 how2 bow3, how2 cai4 siu1 lan6 zow3)
:* Meaning: Good deeds may not be rewarded; even good firewood may ruin the stove. 
:* Note: 'reward' and 'stove' rhyme in Cantonese.

(contracted; show full)* [[English proverbs]]
* [[French proverbs]]
* [[German proverbs]]
* [[Japanese proverbs]]
* [[Latin proverbs]]
* [[Polish proverbs]]
* [[Portuguese proverbs]]
* [[Spanish proverbs]]