Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 12
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 自告奋勇 / 自告奮勇 — zì gào fèn yǒng — to volunteer for · to offer to undertake
- 赞不绝口 / 讚不絕口 — zàn bù jué kǒu — to praise without cease (idiom) · praise someone to high heaven
- 赶尽杀绝 / 趕盡殺絕 — gǎn jìn shā jué — to kill to the last one (idiom)
- 身临其境 / 身臨其境 — shēn lín qí jìng — to experience it for oneself
- 驾轻就熟 / 駕輕就熟 — jià qīng jiù shú — literally an easy drive on a familiar path (idiom) · figuratively experience makes progress easy
- 一文不名 — yī wén bù míng — to be penniless
- 乌烟瘴气 / 烏煙瘴氣 — wū yān zhàng qì — full of smoke and noxious fumes · (figuratively) toxic atmosphere · chaotic environment
- 刨根问底 / 刨根問底 — páo gēn wèn dǐ — to dig up roots and inquire at the base (idiom) · to get to the bottom of something
- 原封不动 / 原封不動 — yuán fēng bù dòng — the original seal has not been disturbed (idiom)
- 同流合污 — tóng liú hé wū — to wallow in the mire with someone (idiom) · to follow the bad example of others
- 听之任之 / 聽之任之 — tīng zhī rèn zhī — to take a laissez-faire attitude · to turn a blind eye (towards something undesirable)
- 大街小巷 — dà jiē xiǎo xiàng — great streets and small alleys (idiom) · everywhere in the city
- 平易近人 — píng yì jìn rén — amiable and approachable (idiom) · easygoing
- 心血来潮 / 心血來潮 — xīn xuè lái cháo — to be prompted by a sudden impulse
- 忧心忡忡 / 憂心忡忡 — yōu xīn chōng chōng — deeply worried and sick at heart (idiom)
- 有利可图 / 有利可圖 — yǒu lì kě tú — profitable
- 未雨绸缪 / 未雨綢繆 — wèi yǔ chóu móu — literally before it rains, bind around with silk (idiom, from Book of Songs 诗经) · figuratively to plan ahead
- 老生常谈 / 老生常談 — lǎo shēng cháng tán — an old observation (idiom)
- 重整旗鼓 — chóng zhěng qí gǔ — literally to reorganize flags and drums (idiom) · to regroup after a setback
- 风平浪静 / 風平浪靜 — fēng píng làng jìng — literally breeze is still, waves are quiet (idiom) · tranquil environment
- 一落千丈 — yī luò qiān zhàng — literally to drop a thousand zhang in one fall (idiom)
- 一鸣惊人 / 一鳴驚人 — yī míng jīng rén — to amaze the world with a single brilliant feat (idiom) · an overnight celebrity
- 不堪设想 / 不堪設想 — bù kān shè xiǎng — too horrible to contemplate
- 丧心病狂 / 喪心病狂 — sàng xīn bìng kuáng — deranged · demented · berserk
- 义无反顾 / 義無反顧 — yì wú fǎn gù — honor does not allow one to glance back (idiom) · duty-bound not to turn back
- 冠冕堂皇 — guān miǎn táng huáng — high-sounding
- 功成名就 — gōng chéng míng jiù — to win success and recognition (idiom)
- 千篇一律 — qiān piān yī lǜ — thousand articles, same rule (idiom) · stereotyped and repetitive
- 千辛万苦 / 千辛萬苦 — qiān xīn wàn kǔ — to suffer untold hardships (idiom) · trials and tribulations
- 半死不活 — bàn sǐ bù huó — half-dead · barely alive
- 历历在目 / 歷歷在目 — lì lì zài mù — vivid in one's mind (idiom)
- 只字不提 / 隻字不提 — zhī zì bù tí — to say not a single word about it
- 司空见惯 / 司空見慣 — sī kōng jiàn guàn — a common occurrence (idiom)
- 同病相怜 / 同病相憐 — tóng bìng xiāng lián — fellow sufferers empathize with each other (idiom) · misery loves company
- 和盘托出 / 和盤托出 — hé pán tuō chū — literally to put everything out including the tray
- 如履薄冰 — rú lǚ bó bīng — as if walking on thin ice (idiom)
- 急转直下 / 急轉直下 — jí zhuǎn zhí xià — to develop rapidly after abrupt turn (idiom) · dramatic change
- 惊天动地 / 驚天動地 — jīng tiān dòng dì — world-shaking
- 束手就擒 — shù shǒu jiù qín — to submit to having one's hands tied and being taken prisoner (idiom)
- 条条框框 / 條條框框 — tiáo tiáo kuàng kuàng — fixed framework (idiom) · restriction of social conventions and taboos (usually derogatory)
- 汗流浃背 / 汗流浹背 — hàn liú jiā bèi — to sweat profusely (idiom)
- 生死存亡 — shēng sǐ cún wáng — matter of life and death
- 空空如也 — kōng kōng rú yě — as empty as anything (idiom) · completely bereft
- 耸人听闻 / 聳人聽聞 — sǒng rén tīng wén — to sensationalize (idiom) · deliberate exaggeration to scare people
- 英年早逝 — yīng nián zǎo shì — to die an untimely death (idiom)
- 负债累累 / 負債累累 — fù zhài lěi lěi — deep in debt
- 身败名裂 / 身敗名裂 — shēn bài míng liè — to lose one's standing
- 通力合作 — tōng lì hé zuò — to join forces
- 一举成名 / 一舉成名 — yī jǔ chéng míng — to become famous in one stroke · to shoot to fame (originally referred to passing the imperial examination)
- 一钱不值 / 一錢不值 — yī qián bù zhí — not worth a penny · utterly worthless