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This paper is pided into five parts. The first part is the introduction of the whole paper. The second part introduces the theoretical foundation of idioms. The third part analyzes the correspondence between English idioms and Chinese idioms. The fourth part discusses the translation strategies. And the fifth part is the conclusion of the paper. This paper may help us to understand English idioms and translate them into proper Chinese. In addition, people can benefit a lot from learning the differences between English idioms and Chinese idioms.
II. Theoretical Foundation of Idioms
2.1 Definitions of Chinese Idioms
There are many definitions of idioms according to different dictionaries ,源Z自+优尔=文)论(文]网[www.youerw.com and scholars. The definitions of idioms from different dictionaries are as the following:
According to Cihai, an idiom is a phrase or a single unit of a language, which can’t be modified randomly. It must be explained as a sense group, and it contains fixed phrases, locutions and proverbs. And the meaning of idioms is often not equivalent to the each part of the meaning. That is to say, the meaning of an idiom is not the total meaning of each word. Take the Chinese idiom “口若悬河” as an example. It can’t be translated into “take the river hangs on the mouth”, but it can be translated into “someone speaks eloquently and volubly”. Look at another example: “犬马之劳”. It can be translated into “to serve somebody faithfully like the dog or the horse”.
According to Modern Chinese Dictionary, an idiom is a set of words established by usages which add colors and imagery. The meaning of an idiom is different from the meanings of its words. This kind of definition helps us to understand why language learners often feel confused about the meaning of idiom though he or she looks up each word in the dictionary. For example, the idiom “破镜重圆” can’t be translated into “broken mirror repaired”. In fact, it stands for the porced or the separated reunion and reconciliation.