Chengyu
Browse 1572 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 2
1572 words
Canonical idioms from Taiwan MOE's 《成語典》. Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 出人头地 / 出人頭地 — chū rén tóu dì — to stand out among one's peers (idiom)
- 出类拔萃 / 出類拔萃 — chū lèi bá cuì — to excel the common (idiom) · surpassing
- 半途而废 / 半途而廢 — bàn tú ér fèi — to give up halfway (idiom) · leave something unfinished
- 坐以待毙 / 坐以待斃 — zuò yǐ dài bì — to sit and wait for death (idiom) · resigned to one's fate
- 水落石出 — shuǐ luò shí chū — as the water recedes, the rocks appear (idiom)
- 史无前例 / 史無前例 — shǐ wú qián lì — unprecedented in history
- 无理取闹 / 無理取鬧 — wú lǐ qǔ nào — to make trouble without reason · to be deliberately provocative
- 名副其实 / 名副其實 — míng fù qí shí — not just in name only, but also in reality (idiom)
- 不合时宜 / 不合時宜 — bù hé shí yí — out of step with current thinking
- 岌岌可危 — jí jí kě wēi — imminent danger (idiom) · approaching a crisis
- 手无寸铁 / 手無寸鐵 — shǒu wú cùn tiě — literally not an inch of steel (idiom) · unarmed and defenseless
- 犹豫不决 / 猶豫不決 — yóu yù bù jué — hesitancy
- 应有尽有 / 應有盡有 — yīng yǒu jìn yǒu — everything that should be here is here (idiom) · all one can think of is on hand
- 如愿以偿 / 如願以償 — rú yuàn yǐ cháng — to have one's wish fulfilled
- 循规蹈矩 / 循規蹈矩 — xún guī dǎo jǔ — to follow the compass and go with the set square (idiom) · to follow the rules inflexibly
- 流言蜚语 / 流言蜚語 — liú yán fēi yǔ — rumors and slanders (idiom) · gossip
- 若无其事 / 若無其事 — ruò wú qí shì — as if nothing had happened · calm and composed · nonchalant
- 装模作样 / 裝模作樣 — zhuāng mó zuò yàng — to put on an act · to show affectation · to indulge in histrionics
- 大发雷霆 / 大發雷霆 — dà fā léi tíng — to be furious
- 忍无可忍 / 忍無可忍 — rěn wú kě rěn — more than one can bear (idiom) · at the end of one's patience · the last straw
- 分道扬镳 / 分道揚鑣 — fēn dào yáng biāo — literally to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom)
- 奄奄一息 — yǎn yǎn yī xī — dying
- 形影不离 / 形影不離 — xíng yǐng bù lí — inseparable (as form and shadow)
- 按部就班 — àn bù jiù bān — to follow the prescribed order · to keep to the working routine
- 装腔作势 / 裝腔作勢 — zhuāng qiāng zuò shì — posturing
- 大庭广众 / 大庭廣眾 — dà tíng guǎng zhòng — in public · in front of everyone · openly (typically preceded by 在 zài and followed by 之下 zhī xià)
- 漠不关心 / 漠不關心 — mò bù guān xīn — not the least bit concerned
- 一帆风顺 / 一帆風順 — yī fān fēng shùn — propitious wind throughout the journey (idiom)
- 井井有条 / 井井有條 — jǐng jǐng yǒu tiáo — everything clear and orderly (idiom) · neat and tidy
- 适可而止 / 適可而止 — shì kě ér zhǐ — to refrain from going too far · to know when to stop
- 一成不变 / 一成不變 — yī chéng bù biàn — immutable · impervious to change · set in stone
- 来龙去脉 / 來龍去脈 — lái lóng qù mài — the rise and fall of the terrain (idiom)
- 声名狼藉 / 聲名狼藉 — shēng míng láng jí — to have a bad reputation
- 一触即发 / 一觸即發 — yī chù jí fā — could happen at any moment
- 易如反掌 — yì rú fǎn zhǎng — easy as a hand's turn (idiom) · very easy
- 赴汤蹈火 / 赴湯蹈火 — fù tāng dǎo huǒ — literally to jump into scalding water and plunge into raging fire (idiom)
- 不速之客 — bù sù zhī kè — uninvited or unexpected guest
- 出其不意 — chū qí bù yì — to do something when least expected (idiom) · to catch someone off guard
- 卷土重来 / 卷土重來 — juǎn tǔ chóng lái — literally to return in a swirl of dust (idiom)
- 滔滔不绝 / 滔滔不絕 — tāo tāo bù jué — to produce a torrent of words · to talk on and on
- 一败涂地 / 一敗塗地 — yī bài tú dì — literally defeated, the ground blanketed with bodies (idiom)
- 孤注一掷 / 孤注一擲 — gū zhù yī zhì — to stake all on one throw
- 天翻地覆 — tiān fān dì fù — sky and the earth turning upside down (idiom) · figuratively complete confusion
- 惨不忍睹 / 慘不忍睹 — cǎn bù rěn dǔ — literally so horrible that one cannot bear to look (idiom)
- 一劳永逸 / 一勞永逸 — yī láo yǒng yì — to get something done once and for all
- 东山再起 / 東山再起 — dōng shān zài qǐ — literally to return to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dongshan (idiom) · figuratively to make a comeback
- 同心协力 / 同心協力 — tóng xīn xié lì — to work with a common purpose (idiom) · to make concerted efforts
- 异想天开 / 異想天開 — yì xiǎng tiān kāi — to imagine the wildest thing · to indulge in fantasy
- 得寸进尺 / 得寸進尺 — dé cùn jìn chǐ — literally win an inch, want a foot (idiom) · figuratively not satisfied with small gains
- 脱胎换骨 / 脫胎換骨 — tuō tāi huàn gǔ — to shed one's mortal body and exchange one's bones (idiom) · born again Daoist