How to say [X] in Chinese

the state of Qin, one of the seven states of the Warring States Period (475-220 BC)

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秦国

qín guó

the sun and moon like a shuttle (idiom)

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日月如梭

rì yuè rú suō

the swallow's nest is built one beakful of mud at a time (idiom)

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燕子衔泥垒大窝

yàn zi xián ní lěi dà wō

the Taliban, Islamist organization that emerged in the mid-1990s in Afghanistan

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塔利班

tǎ lì bān

the ten commandments (religion)

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十戒

shí jiè

the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1] and twelve earthly branches 十二枝

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干支

gān zhī

the ten Heavenly Stems 甲[jia3], 乙[yi3], 丙[bing3], 丁[ding1], 戊[wu4], 己[ji3], 庚[geng1], 辛[xin1], 壬[ren2], 癸[gui3] (used cyclically in the calendar and as ordinal number like Roman I, II, III)

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十天干

shí tiān gān

the ten thousands place (or column) in the decimal system

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万位

wàn wèi

the theory of Mencius that people are by nature good

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性善

xìng shàn

the third of the three annual periods of hot weather (三伏[san1 fu2]), which typically runs over the middle ten days of August

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末伏

mò fú

the thirty-two physical characteristics of Buddha

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三十二相

sān shí èr xiāng

the three annual periods of hot weather, namely 初伏[chu1 fu2], 中伏[zhong1 fu2] and 末伏[mo4 fu2], which run consecutively over a period from mid-July to late August

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三伏

sān fú

the Three Caos (Cao Cao 曹操 and his sons Cao Pi 曹丕 and Cao Zhi 曹植), who established the Wei or Cao Wei dynasty 曹魏, and were all three noted poets and calligraphers

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三曹

sān cáo

the three core challenges of rural development in mainland China (agriculture 農業|农业[nong2 ye4], rural areas 農村|农村[nong2 cun1] and farmers 農民|农民[nong2 min2]), first identified as a policy focus in the 1990s

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三农问题

sān nóng wèn tí

the Three Doctrines (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism)

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三教

sān jiào

the three judicial chief ministries (in imperial China)

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三法司

sān fǎ sī

the three legendary sovereigns of the third millennium BC: Suiren 燧人[Sui4 ren2], Fuxi 伏羲[Fu2 Xi1] and Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2], or 天皇|天皇[Tian1 huang2], 地皇|地皇[Di4 huang2] and 人皇|人皇[Ren2 huang2]

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三皇

sān huáng

the three no's (abbreviated catchphrase)

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三不

sān bù

the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, a region in northwestern Yunnan where three major rivers – the Jinsha River (upper Yangtze) 金沙江[Jin1 sha1 Jiang1], Lancang River (Mekong) 瀾滄江|澜沧江[Lan2 cang1 Jiang1], and Nu River (Salween) 怒江[Nu4 Jiang1] – run roughly parallel to each other for over 300 kilometers, recognized as a World Heritage Site

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三江并流

sān jiāng bìng liú

the Three Pillars of Faith (Buddha, dharma, sangha), aka 三寶|三宝[san1 bao3]

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三归依

sān guī yī

the three plain colors used for clothing in the PRC in the 1960s: black, gray and blue

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老三色

lǎo sān sè

the Three Precious Treasures of Buddhism, namely: the Buddha 佛, the Dharma 法 (his teaching), and the Sangha 僧 (his monastic order)

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三宝

sān bǎo

the three provinces of Northeast China, namely: Liaoning Province 遼寧省|辽宁省[Liao2 ning2 Sheng3], Jilin Province 吉林省[Ji2 lin2 Sheng3] and Heilongjiang Province 黑龍江省|黑龙江省[Hei1 long2 jiang1 Sheng3]

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东三省

dōng sān shěng

the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists)

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三教九流

sān jiào jiǔ liú