| 康有为 | kang1 you3 wei2 | Kang Youwei (1858-1927), Confucian intellectual, educator and would-be reformer, main leader of the failed reform movement of 1898 |
| 偏偏 | pian1 pian1 | unfortunately |
| 宁可 | ning4 ke3 | preferably |
| 宁愿 | ning4 yuan4 | better |
| 岂不 | qi3 bu4 | wouldn't it...? |
| 莫如 | mo4 ru2 | would be better |
| 恨不得 | hen4 bu5 de2 hen4 bu5 de5 | cannot hate |
| 不巧 | bu4 qiao3 | too bad |
| 看上去 | kan4 shang5 qu5 | it would appear |
| 宁肯 | ning4 ken3 | would prefer |
| 岂非 | qi3 fei1 | wouldn't it be ... ? |
| 力不从心 | li4 bu4 cong2 xin1 li4 bu4 cong1 xin1 | diffident |
| 爱莫能助 | ai4 mo4 neng2 zhu4 | My hands are tied. |