Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 22
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 丰衣足食 / 豐衣足食 — fēng yī zú shí — having ample food and clothing (idiom) · well fed and clothed
- 久而久之 — jiǔ ér jiǔ zhī — over time
- 九霄云外 / 九霄雲外 — jiǔ xiāo yún wài — beyond the topmost clouds (idiom)
- 事不过三 / 事不過三 — shì bù guò sān — a thing should not be attempted more than three times · don't repeat the same mistake again and again
- 事半功倍 — shì bàn gōng bèi — to achieve twice the result with half the effort
- 交头接耳 / 交頭接耳 — jiāo tóu jiē ěr — to whisper to one another's ear
- 人人皆知 — rén rén jiē zhī — known to everyone
- 付之东流 / 付之東流 — fù zhī dōng liú — to commit to the waters (idiom) · to lose something irrevocably
- 传宗接代 / 傳宗接代 — chuán zōng jiē dài — to carry on one's ancestral line
- 出奇制胜 / 出奇制勝 — chū qí zhì shèng — to win by a surprise move
- 势在必行 / 勢在必行 — shì zài bì xíng — circumstances require action (idiom) · absolutely necessary
- 千丝万缕 / 千絲萬縷 — qiān sī wàn lǚ — intricately interconnected
- 变幻莫测 / 變幻莫測 — biàn huàn mò cè — to change unpredictably
- 后来居上 / 後來居上 — hòu lái jū shàng — see 后来者居上 hòu lái zhě jū shàng
- 嗤之以鼻 — chī zhī yǐ bí — to snort disdainfully
- 大放厥词 / 大放厥詞 — dà fàng jué cí — to prattle on self-importantly (idiom)
- 大有人在 — dà yǒu rén zài — there are plenty of such people
- 大饱眼福 / 大飽眼福 — dà bǎo yǎn fú — to feast one's eyes
- 天下第一 — tiān xià dì yī — first under heaven
- 头昏脑胀 / 頭昏腦脹 — tóu hūn nǎo zhàng — to feel giddy · to feel dizzy · one's head spins
- 好景不长 / 好景不長 — hǎo jǐng bù cháng — a good thing doesn't last forever (idiom)
- 妄自尊大 — wàng zì zūn dà — ridiculous self-importance (idiom) · arrogance
- 孜孜不倦 — zī zī bù juàn — literally diligent and never slacking (idiom) · continuous concentrated effort
- 孤苦伶仃 — gū kǔ líng dīng — solitary and impoverished (idiom)
- 完璧归赵 / 完璧歸趙 — wán bì guī zhào — literally to return the jade annulus to Zhao (idiom) · figuratively to return something intact to its rightful owner
- 密不可分 — mì bù kě fēn — inextricably linked (idiom)
- 弱不禁风 / 弱不禁風 — ruò bù jīn fēng — too weak to stand up to the wind (idiom)
- 打抱不平 — dǎ bào bù píng — to aid someone suffering an injustice · to fight for justice
- 招摇撞骗 / 招搖撞騙 — zhāo yáo zhuàng piàn — to dupe people by passing oneself off as a well-connected individual or a figure of authority
- 搔首弄姿 — sāo shǒu nòng zī — to strike a coquettish pose
- 无坚不摧 / 無堅不摧 — wú jiān bù cuī — no stronghold one cannot overcome (idiom) · to conquer every obstacle
- 晴天霹雳 / 晴天霹靂 — qíng tiān pī lì — literally thunderclap from a clear sky (idiom)
- 来历不明 / 來歷不明 — lái lì bù míng — of unknown origin · of dubious background
- 深恶痛绝 / 深惡痛絕 — shēn wù tòng jué — to detest bitterly (idiom)
- 满头大汗 / 滿頭大汗 — mǎn tóu dà hàn — brow beaded with sweat
- 物是人非 — wù shì rén fēi — the place is unchanged, but the faces are different
- 疲于奔命 / 疲於奔命 — pí yú bēn mìng — terribly busy
- 盛气凌人 / 盛氣凌人 — shèng qì líng rén — overbearing
- 瞒天过海 / 瞞天過海 — mán tiān guò hǎi — to cross the sea by a trick (idiom)
- 穷乡僻壤 / 窮鄉僻壤 — qióng xiāng pì rǎng — a remote and desolate place
- 空穴来风 / 空穴來風 — kōng xué lái fēng — literally wind from an empty cave (idiom)
- 翻山越岭 / 翻山越嶺 — fān shān yuè lǐng — literally to pass over mountain ridges (idiom)
- 若隐若现 / 若隱若現 — ruò yǐn ruò xiàn — faint · indistinct
- 虎头蛇尾 / 虎頭蛇尾 — hǔ tóu shé wěi — literally tiger's head, snake's tail (idiom) · figuratively a strong start but weak finish
- 衣食父母 — yī shí fù mǔ — the people one depends upon for one's livelihood
- 装聋作哑 / 裝聾作啞 — zhuāng lóng zuò yǎ — to play deaf-mute
- 裹足不前 — guǒ zú bù qián — to stand still without advancing (idiom) · to hesitate and hold back
- 触目惊心 / 觸目驚心 — chù mù jīng xīn — literally shocks the eye, astonishes the heart (idiom) · shocking
- 赫赫有名 — hè hè yǒu míng — illustrious
- 越俎代庖 — yuè zǔ dài páo — literally to go beyond the sacrificial altar and take over the kitchen (idiom) · figuratively to exceed one's place and meddle in other people's affairs