蒼蠅在鏡子上遊走,並不在乎腳尖棲息和奔跑映出的倒影;相反,牠在光滑的表面上看到許多令牠感興趣的小東西,而我們卻把這些東西當成是灰塵和污垢。

The fly running on the mirror doesn't worry about its reflection on the points of its legs from which it sits and runs; but on the contrary, it sees on the smooth surface a quantity of very small things which interest it and which we confuse with dust and grime.

Source: Tatoeba

Sentence Composition

1 蒼蠅 cāngying housefly

classifier:

2 zài
  1. to exist; to be alive
  2. (of sb or sth) to be (located) at
  3. (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
3 鏡子 jìngzi mirror

classifiers: ,

=4 shǎng used in 上聲 shǎngshēng
=4 shàng
  1. (bound form) up; upper; above; previous
  2. first (of multiple parts)
  3. to climb; to get onto; to go up
  4. to attend (class or university)
  5. (directional complement) up
  6. (noun suffix) on; above
5 遊走 yóuzǒu
  1. to wander about
  2. to roam
  3. to move back and forth between (government and academia, two or more countries etc)
  4. to flow through (a circuit, a network, the body)
  5. to skirt (the border of legality)
  6. (of a singer's voice) to move within its range
  7. (of a stock price) to fluctuate within (a range)
6 並不在乎 bìngzàihu really does not care
7 腳尖 jiǎojiān the extremity of the foot
8 棲息
  1. (of a bird) to perch
  2. (of creatures in general) to inhabit; to dwell
=9 old variant of
=9 surname He
=9
  1. (joining two nouns) and; together with; with (Taiwan pr. hàn)
  2. (math.) sum
  3. to make peace
  4. (sports) to draw; to tie
  5. (bound form) harmonious
  6. (bound form) Japan; Japanese
=9
  1. to compose a poem in reply (to sb's poem) using the same rhyme sequence
  2. to join in the singing
  3. to chime in with others
=9 to complete a set in mahjong or playing cards
=9 huó
  1. to combine a powdery substance (flour, plaster etc) with water
  2. Taiwan pr. huò
=9 huò
  1. to mix (ingredients) together
  2. to blend
  3. classifier for rinses of clothes
  4. classifier for boilings of medicinal herbs
=9 (literary) harmonious (variant of )
=9 huo
  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) warm
  2. warm
10 奔跑 bēnpǎo to run
=11 yìng
  1. to reflect (light)
  2. to shine
  3. to project (an image onto a screen etc)
=11 yìng old variant of yìng
=12 chū
  1. to go out; to come out
  2. to arise; to occur
  3. to produce; to yield
  4. to go beyond; to exceed
  5. (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result)
  6. classifier for dramas, plays, operas etc
=12 chū variant of chū (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels)
=13 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 de "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. or di in poetry and songs
=13 a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 shì)
=13 really and truly
=13 (bound form) bull's-eye; target
14 倒影 dàoyǐng
  1. inverted image
  2. reversed image (e.g. upside down)
15 相反 xiāngfǎn
  1. opposite
  2. contrary
16 it (pronoun for an animal)
17 zài
  1. to exist; to be alive
  2. (of sb or sth) to be (located) at
  3. (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
18 光滑 guānghuá glossy; sleek; smooth
=19 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 de "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. or di in poetry and songs
=19 a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 shì)
=19 really and truly
=19 (bound form) bull's-eye; target
20 表面上 biǎomiànshang outwardly; superficially; on the face of it
21 看到 kàndào to see
22 許多 duō
  1. many
  2. a lot of
  3. much
=23 líng
  1. used in 脊令 líng
  2. used in 令狐 Líng (Taiwan pr. lìng)
=23 lǐng classifier for a ream of paper
=23 lìng
  1. to order
  2. to command
  3. an order
  4. warrant
  5. writ
  6. to cause
  7. to make sth happen
  8. virtuous
  9. honorific title
  10. season
  11. government position (old)
  12. type of short song or poem
24 it (pronoun for an animal)
25 感興趣 gǎnxìng to be interested
=26 de
  1. of; ~'s (possessive particle)
  2. (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun)
  3. (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis)
  4. (used after a noun, verb or adjective to form a nominal expression, as in 皮革的 de "one made of leather" or 跑堂兒的 pǎotángrde "a waiter (literally, one who runs back and forth in a restaurant)" or 新的 xīnde "new one")
  5. also pr. or di in poetry and songs
=26 a taxi; a cab (abbr. for 的士 shì)
=26 really and truly
=26 (bound form) bull's-eye; target
27 小東西 xiǎodongxī
  1. child
  2. small object
28 ér
  1. and
  2. as well as
  3. and so
  4. but (not)
  5. yet (not)
  6. (indicates causal relation)
  7. (indicates change of state)
  8. (indicates contrast)
29 我們 men we; us; ourselves; our
30 què
  1. but
  2. yet
  3. however
  4. while
  5. to go back
  6. to decline
  7. to retreat
  8. nevertheless
  9. even though
=31
  1. to hold; to grasp
  2. to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate
  3. handlebar
  4. classifier: handful, bundle, bunch
  5. classifier for things with handles
  6. (used to put the object before the verb: + {noun} + {verb})
=31 handle
=31
  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of (pá, “to scratch”)
  2. a surname
  3. alternative form of (pá, “to scratch”)
32 這些 zhèxiē these
=33 東西 dōng east and west
=33 東西 dōngxi
  1. thing
  2. stuff
  3. person

classifiers: ,

34 當成 dàngchéng to consider as; to take to be
=35 shì
  1. to be (followed by substantives only)
  2. correct; right; true
  3. (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well
  4. (adverb for emphatic assertion)
=35 shì variant of shì
36 灰塵 huīchén dust
=37 old variant of
=37 surname He
=37
  1. (joining two nouns) and; together with; with (Taiwan pr. hàn)
  2. (math.) sum
  3. to make peace
  4. (sports) to draw; to tie
  5. (bound form) harmonious
  6. (bound form) Japan; Japanese
=37
  1. to compose a poem in reply (to sb's poem) using the same rhyme sequence
  2. to join in the singing
  3. to chime in with others
=37 to complete a set in mahjong or playing cards
=37 huó
  1. to combine a powdery substance (flour, plaster etc) with water
  2. Taiwan pr. huò
=37 huò
  1. to mix (ingredients) together
  2. to blend
  3. classifier for rinses of clothes
  4. classifier for boilings of medicinal herbs
=37 (literary) harmonious (variant of )
=37 huo
  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) warm
  2. warm
=38 污垢 gòu variant of 污垢 gòu
=38 污垢 gòu dirt; filth; grime