Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 14
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 入乡随俗 / 入鄉隨俗 — rù xiāng suí sú — when in Rome, do as the Romans do
- 力挽狂澜 / 力挽狂瀾 — lì wǎn kuáng lán — to pull strongly against a crazy tide (idiom) · figuratively to try hard to save a desperate crisis
- 千千万万 / 千千萬萬 — qiān qiān wàn wàn — literally by the thousands and tens of thousands (idiom) · untold numbers
- 危机四伏 / 危機四伏 — wēi jī sì fú — danger lurks on every side (idiom)
- 可有可无 / 可有可無 — kě yǒu kě wú — not essential
- 大失所望 — dà shī suǒ wàng — greatly disappointed
- 大汗淋漓 — dà hàn lín lí — dripping with sweat
- 天壤之别 / 天壤之別 — tiān rǎng zhī bié — the difference between heaven and earth (idiom)
- 如坐针毡 / 如坐針氈 — rú zuò zhēn zhān — literally as if sitting on pins and needles (idiom)
- 居高临下 / 居高臨下 — jū gāo lín xià — literally to be in a high location, overlooking the scene below (idiom)
- 屡试不爽 / 屢試不爽 — lǚ shì bù shuǎng — well-tried
- 心慈手软 / 心慈手軟 — xīn cí shǒu ruǎn — softhearted · merciful
- 情有可原 — qíng yǒu kě yuán — pardonable (of interruption, misunderstanding and so on)
- 惊心动魄 / 驚心動魄 — jīng xīn dòng pò — heart-stopping · hair-raising · breathtaking
- 所见所闻 / 所見所聞 — suǒ jiàn suǒ wén — what one hears and sees (idiom)
- 扭转乾坤 / 扭轉乾坤 — niǔ zhuǎn qián kūn — literally to upend heaven and earth (idiom)
- 招摇过市 / 招搖過市 — zhāo yáo guò shì — to parade oneself ostentatiously about town
- 接踵而来 / 接踵而來 — jiē zhǒng ér lái — to come one after the other
- 数一数二 / 數一數二 — shǔ yī shǔ èr — reckoned to be best or second best · one of the very best
- 权宜之计 / 權宜之計 — quán yí zhī jì — plan of convenience (idiom) · stop-gap measure
- 来之不易 / 來之不易 — lái zhī bù yì — hard to come by · not easily obtained
- 满不在乎 / 滿不在乎 — mǎn bù zài hu — not in the least concerned (idiom)
- 熟能生巧 — shú néng shēng qiǎo — with familiarity you learn the trick (idiom) · practice makes perfect
- 目光短浅 / 目光短淺 — mù guāng duǎn qiǎn — to be shortsighted
- 背井离乡 / 背井離鄉 — bèi jǐng lí xiāng — to leave one's native place, especially against one's will (idiom)
- 雄心勃勃 — xióng xīn bó bó — aggressive and grand (idiom) · ambitious
- 面面俱到 — miàn miàn jù dào — take care of everything · handle everything
- 两肋插刀 / 兩肋插刀 — liǎng lèi chā dāo — to take knives in both sides (idiom)
- 体无完肤 / 體無完膚 — tǐ wú wán fū — literally cuts and bruises all over (idiom) · figuratively totally refuted
- 公诸于世 / 公諸於世 — gōng zhū yú shì — to announce to the world (idiom)
- 刻骨铭心 / 刻骨銘心 — kè gǔ míng xīn — literally carved in bones and engraved in the heart (idiom)
- 助人为乐 / 助人為樂 — zhù rén wéi lè — pleasure from helping others (idiom)
- 千疮百孔 / 千瘡百孔 — qiān chuāng bǎi kǒng — see 百孔千疮 bǎi kǒng qiān chuāng
- 合而为一 / 合而為一 — hé ér wéi yī — to merge together (idiom) · to unify disparate elements into one whole
- 呼风唤雨 / 呼風喚雨 — hū fēng huàn yǔ — to call the wind and summon the rain (idiom) · to exercise magical powers
- 土崩瓦解 — tǔ bēng wǎ jiě — to collapse
- 大显身手 / 大顯身手 — dà xiǎn shēn shǒu — fully displaying one's capabilities
- 失之交臂 — shī zhī jiāo bì — to miss narrowly
- 头破血流 / 頭破血流 — tóu pò xuè liú — literally head broken and blood flowing
- 形单影只 / 形單影隻 — xíng dān yǐng zhī — lonely soul · solitary
- 惨无人道 / 慘無人道 — cǎn wú rén dào — inhuman (idiom)
- 抛头露面 / 拋頭露面 — pāo tóu lù miàn — to put oneself out in the public eye (said of someone for whom doing so is deemed unseemly)
- 有始有终 / 有始有終 — yǒu shǐ yǒu zhōng — where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom) · to finish once one starts something
- 朝思暮想 — zhāo sī mù xiǎng — to yearn for something day and night (idiom)
- 漏洞百出 — lòu dòng bǎi chū — full of flaws (idiom)
- 熟视无睹 / 熟視無睹 — shú shì wú dǔ — to turn a blind eye to (something one sees regularly)
- 男女老少 — nán nǚ lǎo shào — men, women, young and old · all kinds of people · people of all ages
- 穷凶极恶 / 窮凶極惡 — qióng xiōng jí è — fiendish
- 精神焕发 / 精神煥發 — jīng shén huàn fā — in high spirits (idiom) · glowing with health and vigor
- 美轮美奂 / 美輪美奐 — měi lún měi huàn — (of houses, scenery and so on) magnificent