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传统的中国十二属相中，每一动物司职一年，十二年轮回一次。有道是牛头不对马嘴，猴年马月不相逢，可在语言中人们却尽情地让十二属相自由组合，借助它们的引申义，形成多姿多彩的成语、习语、惯用语、谚语，表达着中国人的属相（animal signs）情结，这丝毫不亚于西方人的宠物情结。已经有多篇文献介绍了单一属相构成的成语、习语、惯用语、谚语，笔者试着介绍一些由两个属相组合成的成语、习语、惯用语、谚语，按十二属相排序，并一一将它们译成英文，相信聪明的你一定能体会到中西方思维方式的暗合和差异。
两个属相动物组合成的成语：
鼠肚鸡肠 petty; narrow-minded; be intolerant and care for trivial matters rather than the overall situations
鼠窃狗偷 pilfer; play petty tricks on the sly
牛鬼蛇神 monsters and demons; forces of evil; evil people of all descriptions
牛刀割鸡 use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken
牛马生活 a dog’s life
牛头马面 Ox Head and Horse Face (two demon attendants of the King of Hell)
吹牛拍马 boast and flatter
虎头蛇尾 peter out after a good start； a fine start and a poor finish; in like a lion, out like a lamb
虎踞龙蟠 forbidding strategic location
兔死狗烹 kill trusted aides once the enemy has been wiped out
龙马精神 in high spirits, still tough though old
龙争虎斗 fierce struggle between well matched opponents; contests between giants
龙潭虎穴 dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den; dangerous spot
龙腾虎跃 full of power and grandeur like dragons rising and tigers leaping; scene of bustling activity
龙蛇混杂 good and bad people mixed up
蛇鼠横行 wicked people run rampant
蛇头鼠尾 sneaky, crafty look
羊头狗肉 substitute false goods for true ones to cheat customers
羊质虎皮 outwardly strong, inwardly weak
猴年马月 impossible date; day that will never come
鸡飞狗跳 in great disorder
鸡口牛后 better to reign in hell than serve in heaven; preferable to lead in humble position than follow a greater leader
鸡零狗碎 in bits and pieces; fragmentary
鸡鸣狗盗 get up to mean or petty tricks
鸡犬不宁 general turmoil
鸡犬相闻 live close to each other
狗马声色 lost (inclulged) in playing with pets, or in sexual pleasures
猪狗不如 no better than pigs and dogs
几个属相动物组合构成的习语：
牛头不对马面或牛头不对马嘴 incongruous, completely off the point, irrelevant
鸡犬之声相闻，老死不相往来 grow old and die without having had any dealings with each other; never be in contact with each other
狗拿耗子,多管闲事 poke one’s nose into other people’s business
挂羊头卖狗肉 sell a pig in a poke; hang out false colors
杀鸡焉用牛刀。It’s unnecessary to use a Butcher’s knife to kill a chicken.
英语中虽然根据人们出世时的行星和黄道十二宫的位置来预卜他们一生的命运，但也有强烈的宠物情结，用动物的习性来隐喻人的行为，几乎每个动物名称都可用作动词，动物名词转化为表示具有该动物习性特点的行为动作，这与中国人的思维方式有些暗合，有异曲同工之妙，而有些则大相径庭。试举dog为例，作名词指狗；作动词则指尾随某人，困扰某人或某事，如：
He was dogged wherever he went. 他不管到哪里，总被人尾随。
Her career was dogged by misfortune. 她一生屡遭不幸。 ☆
两个属相动物组合成的成语：
鼠肚鸡肠 petty; narrow-minded; be intolerant and care for trivial matters rather than the overall situations
鼠窃狗偷 pilfer; play petty tricks on the sly
牛鬼蛇神 monsters and demons; forces of evil; evil people of all descriptions
牛刀割鸡 use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken
牛马生活 a dog’s life
牛头马面 Ox Head and Horse Face (two demon attendants of the King of Hell)
吹牛拍马 boast and flatter
虎头蛇尾 peter out after a good start； a fine start and a poor finish; in like a lion, out like a lamb
虎踞龙蟠 forbidding strategic location
兔死狗烹 kill trusted aides once the enemy has been wiped out
龙马精神 in high spirits, still tough though old
龙争虎斗 fierce struggle between well matched opponents; contests between giants
龙潭虎穴 dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den; dangerous spot
龙腾虎跃 full of power and grandeur like dragons rising and tigers leaping; scene of bustling activity
龙蛇混杂 good and bad people mixed up
蛇鼠横行 wicked people run rampant
蛇头鼠尾 sneaky, crafty look
羊头狗肉 substitute false goods for true ones to cheat customers
羊质虎皮 outwardly strong, inwardly weak
猴年马月 impossible date; day that will never come
鸡飞狗跳 in great disorder
鸡口牛后 better to reign in hell than serve in heaven; preferable to lead in humble position than follow a greater leader
鸡零狗碎 in bits and pieces; fragmentary
鸡鸣狗盗 get up to mean or petty tricks
鸡犬不宁 general turmoil
鸡犬相闻 live close to each other
狗马声色 lost (inclulged) in playing with pets, or in sexual pleasures
猪狗不如 no better than pigs and dogs
几个属相动物组合构成的习语：
牛头不对马面或牛头不对马嘴 incongruous, completely off the point, irrelevant
鸡犬之声相闻，老死不相往来 grow old and die without having had any dealings with each other; never be in contact with each other
狗拿耗子,多管闲事 poke one’s nose into other people’s business
挂羊头卖狗肉 sell a pig in a poke; hang out false colors
杀鸡焉用牛刀。It’s unnecessary to use a Butcher’s knife to kill a chicken.
英语中虽然根据人们出世时的行星和黄道十二宫的位置来预卜他们一生的命运，但也有强烈的宠物情结，用动物的习性来隐喻人的行为，几乎每个动物名称都可用作动词，动物名词转化为表示具有该动物习性特点的行为动作，这与中国人的思维方式有些暗合，有异曲同工之妙，而有些则大相径庭。试举dog为例，作名词指狗；作动词则指尾随某人，困扰某人或某事，如：
He was dogged wherever he went. 他不管到哪里，总被人尾随。
Her career was dogged by misfortune. 她一生屡遭不幸。 ☆