Word: 干 (gàn, gān)

三十晚上晒衣裳,今年不干明年干

sānshíwǎnshang shài yīshang,jīnnián bú gàn míngnián gàn

drying clothes on New Year's Eve: if not dry this year, dry next year

不就是你干的么。

Bú jiùshì nǐ gàn de me.

Wasn't that you?

不干我的事！

Bù gān wǒ de shì!

Don't bother me.

买干鱼放生，不知死活

mǎi gān yú fàngshēng, bùzhīsǐhuó

buy dried fish to set free: not knowing dead or alive

事没干完不要走。

Shì méi gàn wán búyào zǒu.

Don't leave here until you have done it.

他干了一番惊天动地的事业。

Tā gànle yìfān jīngtiān-dòngdì de shìyè.

He accomplished a world-shaking career.

你周末干了些什么呢？

Nǐ zhōumò gànle xiē shénme ne?

How did you spend your weekend?

你干得很好。

Nǐ gàn de hěn hǎo.

You did a good job.

你忙，我自己干也行。

Nǐ máng, wǒ zìjǐ gàn yě xíng.

You are busy; I can do it myself.

你觉得这事是谁干的？

Nǐ juéde zhè shì shì shéi gàn de?

Do you have any idea who would do this?

你那么干会被人踢出酒吧的。

Nǐ nàme gàn huì bèi rén tī chū jiǔbā de.

If you did that, they'd kick you out of the bar.

傻瓜才会那么干。

Shǎguā cái huì nàme gàn.

Only a fool would do something like that.

像那样的老师还是别干了比较好。

Xiàng nàyàng de lǎoshī háishi bié gànle bǐjiào hǎo.

Such a teacher may as well retire from his work.

冬天风大，面部皮肤容易干。

Dōngtiān fēng dà, miànbù pífū róngyì gān.

In winter it's windy, and the skin on your face dries out easily.

别留着一半工作没干。

Bié liúzhe yíbàn gōngzuò méi gàn.

Don't leave your work half finished.

别让他人干你自己不喜欢的事。

Bié ràng tā rén gàn nǐ zìjǐ bù xǐhuan de shì.

Don't let others do what you yourself don't like.

勤勤干,满满饭

qínqín gàn,mǎnmǎn fàn

work diligently, bowls full of rice

华北的冬天又干又冷。

Huáběi de dōngtiān yòu gān yòu lěng.

Winters in North China are dry and cold.

夏天太干了，村里的水源不够用。

Xiàtiān tài gānle, cūnlǐ de shuǐyuán búgòu yòng.

The summer was so dry that the village's water supply wasn't enough.

大河有水小河满，大河没水小河干

dàhé yǒu shuǐ xiǎohé mǎn, dàhé méi shuǐ xiǎohé gān

when the big river has water the small one is full, when it has none the small one dries up

天太干，山里容易起山火。

Tiān tài gān, shān lǐ róngyì qǐ shānhuǒ.

When the weather is this dry, wildfires easily start in the mountains.

她一口干完了整杯。

Tā yìkǒu gàn wánle zhěng bēi.

She drank straight from the bottle.

她帮她爸爸干了花园里的活。

Tā bāng tā bàba gànle huāyuán lǐ de huó.

She helped her father with the work in the garden.

她昨天没事干。

Tā zuótiān méishì gàn.

She had nothing to do yesterday.

她用力把湿衣服扭干。

Tā yònglì bǎ shī yīfu niǔ gān.

She wrung out the wet clothes with force.

她用毛巾把头发抹干了。

Tā yòng máojīn bǎ tóufa mǒ gānle.

She wiped her wet hair with a towel.

实在闲得没事干。

Shízài xián de méishì gàn.

I'm bored and I have nothing to do.

小河涨水大河满，小河没水大河干

xiǎohé zhǎngshuǐ dàhé mǎn, xiǎohé méi shuǐ dàhé gān

when small rivers rise the big river is full; when small rivers have no water the big river runs dry

少吃咸鱼少口干

shǎo chī xiányú shǎo kǒu gān

eat less salted fish and your mouth is less dry

干地打不成高墙，没钱盖不起瓦房

gān dì dǎ bùchéng gāo qiáng, méi qián gài bù qǐ wǎfáng

dry earth can't be rammed into a high wall; without money you can't build a tile house

干屎抹不到人身上

gān shǐ mǒ búdào rén shēnshang

dry dung can't be smeared on a person

干池塘里的泥鳅，滑不到哪里去

gàn chítáng lǐ de níqiu, huá búdào nǎlǐ qù

a loach in a dried-up pond: can't be very slippery

干河滩撒网，瞎张罗

gàn hétān sāwǎng, xiā zhāngluo

casting a net on a dry riverbed: busy for nothing

我们这周末应该干点什么的。

Wǒmen zhè zhōumò yīnggāi gān diǎn shénme de.

We should do something this weekend.

我喉咙很干。

Wǒ hóulóng hěn gān.

My throat feels dry.

我干了什么？

Wǒ gànle shénme?

What have I done?

我干了件什么傻事啊！

Wǒ gànle jiàn shénme shǎ shì a!

How stupid of me to do so!

我干这一行已经很久了。

Wǒ gàn zhè yìxíng yǐjīng hěn jiǔle.

I've been in this business a long time.

我想让她干这项艰难的工作。

Wǒ xiǎng ràng tā gàn zhè xiàng jiānnán de gōngzuò.

I want to leave this difficult job to her.

我的喉咙又干又红、又痛又痒。

Wǒ de hóulóng yòu gān yòu hóng, yòu tòng yòu yǎng.

My throat feels dry and raw and scratchy.

我的皮肤是干性的。

Wǒ de pífū shì gàn xìng de.

I have dry skin.

我的衬衫还没干。

Wǒ de chènshān hái méi gān.

My shirt isn't dry yet.

我的袜子已经干了吗？

Wǒ de wàzi yǐjīng gānle ma?

Are my socks dry already?

我这周干了很多活。

Wǒ zhè zhōu gànle hěn duō huó.

I worked a lot this week.

房间太干，要提高湿度。

Fángjiān tài gān, yào tígāo shīdù.

The room is too dry, so we need to raise the humidity.

扣在筛子下边的麻雀,干扑棱没办法

kòu zài shāizi xiàbian de máquè,gān pūlēng méi bànfǎ

a sparrow trapped under a sieve: flaps in vain, nothing to be done

把湿毛巾拧干再擦桌子。

Bǎ shī máojīn nǐng gān zài cā zhuōzi.

Wring out the wet towel before wiping the table.

把湿毛巾绞干再擦桌子。

Bǎ shī máojīn jiǎo gān zài cā zhuōzi.

Wring out the wet towel before wiping the table.

春天潮湿，衣服总干不了。

Chūntiān cháoshī, yīfu zǒng gān bù liǎo.

Spring is damp, so clothes never seem to dry.

最近在干些什么？

Zuìjìn zài gàn xiē shénme?

What've you been doing recently?

水泥还没干，请不要踩上去！

Shuǐní hái méi gān, qǐng búyào cǎi shàngqù!

The cement hasn't dried yet, so please don't step on it!

活快干完了。

Huó kuài gàn wánle.

I have almost finished my work.

混凝土干了以后才能踩。

Hùnníngtǔ gānle yǐhòu cái néng cǎi.

You can only step on concrete after it has dried.

热闹处卖母猪，净干些败兴事儿

rènao chù mài mǔzhū, jìng gàn xiē bàixìng shìr

selling a sow in a busy place: nothing but spoilsport business

给我一条干毛巾。

Gěi wǒ yìtiáo gān máojīn.

Bring me a dry towel.

蒋干盗书，上了大当

Jiǎng gàn dào shū, shàng le dà dāng

Jiang Gan steals the letter: falls for a big trick

蒸锅里的水快烧干了！

Zhēngguō lǐ de shuǐ kuài shāo gānle!

The water in the steamer is about to boil dry!

蛤蟆鼓肚子，干生气

háma gǔ dǔzi, gān shēngqì

a toad puffing out its belly: angry for nothing

西北的冬天又干又冷。

Xīběi de dōngtiān yòu gān yòu lěng.

Winters in Northwest China are dry and cold.

说千道万，不如一干

shuōqiāndàowàn, bùrú yì gān

say a thousand things, say ten thousand, it's better to do it once

近日总下雨，衣服难干。

Jìnrì zǒng xiàyǔ, yīfu nán gān.

It's been raining these past few days, so clothes are hard to get dry.

这不干你的事！

Zhè bù gān nǐ de shì!

It's none of your business!

这个工作十个人要干十天。

Zhège gōngzuò shí gè rén yào gàn shí tiān.

The work requires ten men for ten days.

这名乞丐在收集干面包。

Zhè míng qǐgài zài shōují gàn miànbāo.

The beggar is collecting stale bread.

这块地太干，不适合耕作。

Zhèkuài de tài gān, bú shìhé gēngzuò.

This plot of land is too dry and isn't suitable for farming.

这条河的水干了。

Zhè tiáo hé de shuǐ gānle.

There was no water in the river.

连绵的阴雨，衣服一直晾不干。

Liánmián de yīnyǔ, yīfu yìzhí liàng bù gān.

With the uninterrupted wet weather, the laundry just won't dry.

连绵的阴雨让衣服一直干不了。

Liánmián de yīnyǔ ràng yīfu yìzhí gān bù liǎo.

The continuous rain meant the clothes never dried.

那些人在干啥呀？

Nèixiē rén zài gàn shá ya?

What are those people doing?

阳台上的拖把还没干呢。

Yángtái shàng de tuōbǎ hái méi gān ne.

The mop on the balcony still isn't dry.

霸王敬酒，不干也得干

bàwáng jìngjiǔ, bú gàn yě de gàn

the Overlord offers a toast: you must drain it (gān) even if you don't want to do it (gàn)

高温天气让很多河都干了。

Gāowēn tiānqì ràng hěn duō hé dōu gānle.

The hot weather has dried up many rivers.

鼻子上的糖，干馋舔不着

bízi shàng de táng, gān chán tiǎn bù zháo

candy on your nose: you crave it but can't lick it