12 Chinese Idioms About Rat

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胆小如鼠
dǎn xiǎo rú shǔ

Literal translation: small courage like a mouse

English meaning: cowardly

English equivalent: a mouse (when describing a person)

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猫哭老鼠
māo kū lǎo shǔ

Literal translation: a cat that cries over a mouse

English meaning: false compassion

English equivalent: crocodile tears

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鼠目寸光
shǔ mù cùn guāng

Literal translation: a rat’s sight of inches

English meaning: short-sighted

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穷鼠啮狸
qióng shǔ niè lí

Literal translation: a poor mouse bites a leopard cat

English meaning: describing a person who fights back when pressured although there is no chance of winning

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老鼠过街
lǎo shǔ guò jiē

Literal translation: a rat crossing the street

English meaning: a harmful thing that everyone loathes

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狼眼鼠眉
láng yǎn shǔ méi

Literal translation: a wolf’s eyes and a rat’s eyebrows

English meaning: describing someone who has a vicious appearance

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进退首鼠
jìn tuì shǒu shǔ

Literal translation: hesitating to advance and retreat

English meaning: indecisive

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猫鼠同眠
māo shǔ tóng mián

Literal translation: a cat and a mouse sleep together

English meaning: colluding in doing evil

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梧鼠五技
wú shǔ wǔ jì

Literal translation: a mole with five skills

English meaning: possessing many skills but none is brilliant

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鸟骇鼠窜
niǎo hài shǔ cuàn

Literal translation: birds are startled and rats are running away

English meaning: fleeing in fright

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鼠入牛角
shǔ rù niú jiǎo

Literal translation: a mouse that enters an ox’s horn

English meaning: power that gets smaller and smaller

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虫臂鼠肝
chóng bì shǔ gān

Literal translation: a worm’s arm and a rat’s liver

English meaning: an extremely tiny and worthless item

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城狐社鼠
chéng hú shè shǔ

Literal translation: a fox on the city wall and a mouse in the temple

English meaning: a villain who abuses their power and is hard to get rid of

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See also: Chinese Idioms About Pigs