目前，对“歇后语”一词的翻译难以统一。有人翻译为Chinese enigmatic folk similes，这一译法的缺点是歇后语中不全是比喻，也有谐音或双关式歇后语。有人翻译为quiz-cracks(隐语或谜语)，同样也不全面。于是有人提议直接翻译为xiehouyu in Chinese，这倒是有一定的可借鉴性。因为歇后语是中华民族的独特文化，正如二胡(erhu)、中国功夫(Chinese gongfu)等。但是，追根溯源，歇后语最早是文人之间的一种文字游戏，最早叫做“俏皮话”，因此，有人据此大胆翻译为Chinese folk wisecracks。

比喻性歇后语的翻译方法

直译法： 对大多数喻义歇后语，由于比喻部分生动形象，喻义部分逻辑推理合乎情理，不包含一词两义的双关或谐音，通常采用直译法，既传达源语的内容，又维持源语的形象，便于读者阅读和欣赏。例如：

瞎子点灯–白费蜡。 It is as useless as a blind man lighting a candle.

黄鼠狼给鸡拜年–不怀好意。 A weasel wishing Happy New Year to a chicken-harboring no good intention.

肉包子打狗–有去无回。 Chasing a dog by throwing meat dumplings at it-gone, never to return.

竹篮打水–一场空。 Like ladling water with a wicker basket-all is empty (nothing).

八仙过海–各显其能。 (Like) the Eight Immortals crossing the sea-each showing his or her special prowess. ( Each of them shows their true worth.)

隔着门缝看人–把人瞧扁了。 If you peer at a person through a crack-he looks flat.

兔子尾巴长不了。 The tail of a rabbit-cannot be long; won’t last long.

谐音或双关式歇后语的翻译方法

解释法：解释法是一种行之有效的翻译方法，也是揭示源语文化内涵的重要途径，它是指在译文里保留原来的文化色彩，并加上简要的解释说明以突出其形象性。解释法可以细分为解释性替代和解释性增补两种类型。

解释性替代

解释性替代是指当词语在源语和译语中的内涵意义相同，但联想意义不同时，不能按照字面翻译，而应该用解释性替代的方法翻译原文。汉语中的成语即谚语翻译一般用解释性替代的方法来进行翻译，例如: 挥金如土 spend money like water

解释性增补

解释性增补是指当源语中词语的内涵意义在译语中出现词汇空缺,其联想意义也出现空白时,译者必须保留源语的词语形象,而将其深层含义以解释的形式翻译出来,揭示出源语的文化特性或文化背景。汉语中特有的歇后语在译成英语时,可以保留原语形象,再用解释性增补以表现其喻意。

利用汉语的谐音

牛角抹油——又尖（奸）又滑（猾） Spreading oil on an ox horn——to make it sharper and more slippery or cunning and treacherous.

李双双见到丈夫——有喜旺（希望）

Li Shuangshuang sees her husband——she has Xiwang now; like Li Shuangshuang meeting her husband Xiwang, a homophone for the Chinese word xiwang meaning hope, there is hope now.

利用双关语义

井底雕花——深刻 Carving a flower design on the bottom of a well——carving deeply or get to the essence of something.

擀面杖吹火———一窍不通 A rolling pin used as a bellows —no good at all.

王小二过年——一年不如一年

Wang Xiao’er spending the New Year——one year is worse than another; like Wang Xiao’er’s life, one year is worse than another.

飞机上跳伞——一落千丈

Bale out from a flying plane——drop down a thousand zhang or suffer a drastic decline; like jumping from a flying plane, they decline drastically.www.rr365.com

利用典故

英汉两种语言中存有大量由历史典故形成的习语，如，“东施效颦”、“名落孙山”、“叶公好龙”等等。英语典故习语多来自《圣经》和希腊罗马神话，如Achilles’heel（唯一致命弱点）、meet one’s Waterloo（一败涂地）、Penelope’s web（永远完不成的工作）、a Pandora’s box（潘多拉之盒，代表灾难、麻烦、祸害的根源）等。

有关典故的这些习语结构简单，意义深远，往往是不能单从字面意义去理解和翻译的。在翻译利用典故的歇后语时，如果仅仅使用解释性增补方法是远远不够的，我们还应该对译文加以注释，从而从文化上和历史上更准确地传达汉语歇后语所包含的民族和文化特色。

八仙聚会——又说又笑

A gathering of Eight Immortals——speaking and laughing; like the Eight Immortals at a gathering, they are talking and laughing merrily.

Note: The Eight Immortals refer to the eight Taoists in a Chinese legend, namely, Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao, Lü Dongbin, Tieguai Li, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu, Lan Caihe and He Xiangu.

王羲之写字——横竖都好

A character out of Wang Xizhi’s hand——vertical strokes are as good as horizontal ones; like Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy, it is good in every way.

Note: Wang Xizhi was a famous Chinese calligrapher and a Chinese character is usually composed of strokes, of which the vertical and horizontal ones are the most commonly used. Hengshu here has two interpretations: 1) the horizontal and vertical strokes; 2) horizontally or vertically, that is, in any way.

灶王爷扔石头——砸锅

The Kitchen God throwing stones——to break the pot or ruin the matter.

Note: The literal meaning of zaguo is to break a pot but it is usually used to mean ruining the matter.

秦叔宝卖马——穷途末路

Qin Shubao selling his horse——the last resort to overcome his difficulty; like Qin Shubao selling his horse, they are driven into a dead end

Note: Qin Qiong, styled Shubao, was a famous general in the Tang Dynasty. Before becoming a general, he was once penniless and had no way out but to sell his own horse