Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 33
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 悬崖峭壁 / 懸崖峭壁 — xuán yá qiào bì — sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces
- 惊涛骇浪 / 驚濤駭浪 — jīng tāo hài làng — perilous situation
- 成竹在胸 — chéng zhú zài xiōng — see 胸有成竹 xiōng yǒu chéng zhú
- 抱头痛哭 / 抱頭痛哭 — bào tóu tòng kū — to weep disconsolately · to cry on each other's shoulder
- 拂袖而去 — fú xiù ér qù — to storm off in a huff (idiom)
- 按捺不住 — àn nà bu zhù — to be unable to hold back
- 插科打诨 / 插科打諢 — chā kē dǎ hùn — to include impromptu comic material in opera performance (idiom) · to jest
- 摸爬滚打 / 摸爬滾打 — mō pá gǔn dǎ — to go through challenging experiences · to become seasoned (in one's profession and so on)
- 无可非议 / 無可非議 — wú kě fēi yì — irreproachable (idiom)
- 无名英雄 / 無名英雄 — wú míng yīng xióng — unnamed hero
- 明争暗斗 / 明爭暗鬥 — míng zhēng àn dòu — to fight openly and maneuver covertly
- 明知故犯 — míng zhī gù fàn — deliberate violation (idiom) · intentional crime
- 是非曲直 — shì fēi qū zhí — literally right and wrong, crooked and straight (idiom) · figuratively merits and demerits
- 普天之下 — pǔ tiān zhī xià — all under heaven · in the whole world · throughout the world
- 暗渡陈仓 / 暗渡陳倉 — àn dù chén cāng — literally secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河 Wèi Hé at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 刘邦 Liú Bāng in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 项羽 Xiàng Yǔ of Chu)
- 横空出世 / 橫空出世 — héng kōng chū shì — to come to the fore in spectacular fashion · to emerge from obscurity to achieve great success
- 欺人太甚 — qī rén tài shèn — to bully intolerably
- 歌舞升平 / 歌舞昇平 — gē wǔ shēng píng — to celebrate peace with songs and dance (idiom)
- 此起彼伏 — cǐ qǐ bǐ fú — up here, down there (idiom) · to rise and fall in succession
- 残兵败将 / 殘兵敗將 — cán bīng bài jiàng — ruined army, defeated general (idiom) · scattered remnants
- 求同存异 / 求同存異 — qiú tóng cún yì — to put aside differences and work together · to seek common ground and cooperate
- 沁人心脾 — qìn rén xīn pí — to penetrate deeply into the heart (idiom)
- 泛泛而谈 / 泛泛而談 — fàn fàn ér tán — to speak in general terms
- 洪水猛兽 / 洪水猛獸 — hóng shuǐ měng shòu — literally severe floods and fierce beasts (idiom)
- 浮想联翩 / 浮想聯翩 — fú xiǎng lián piān — to let one's imagination roam
- 滔天大罪 — tāo tiān dà zuì — heinous crime
- 满载而归 / 滿載而歸 — mǎn zài ér guī — to return from a rewarding journey
- 潸然泪下 / 潸然淚下 — shān rán lèi xià — to shed silent tears (idiom)
- 牵强附会 / 牽強附會 — qiān qiǎng fù huì — to make an irrelevant comparison or interpretation (idiom)
- 甚嚣尘上 / 甚囂塵上 — shèn xiāo chén shàng — clamor raises the dust (idiom) · a tremendous clamor
- 男女老幼 — nán nǚ lǎo yòu — men, women, young and old
- 百战不殆 / 百戰不殆 — bǎi zhàn bù dài — to come unscathed through a hundred battles (idiom, from Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孙子兵法 Sūn zǐ Bīng fǎ) · to win every fight
- 百折不挠 / 百折不撓 — bǎi zhé bù náo — to keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks (idiom)
- 百里挑一 / 百裡挑一 — bǎi lǐ tiāo yī — one in a hundred
- 目无法纪 / 目無法紀 — mù wú fǎ jì — with no regard for law or discipline (idiom) · flouting the law and disregarding all rules
- 粉墨登场 / 粉墨登場 — fěn mò dēng chǎng — to make up and go on stage (idiom) · to embark on a career (especially in politics or crime)
- 绝处逢生 / 絕處逢生 — jué chù féng shēng — to find a way to survive when everything seems hopeless
- 缺一不可 — quē yī bù kě — not a single one is dispensable
- 自上而下 — zì shàng ér xià — from top to bottom · top-down
- 自强不息 / 自強不息 — zì qiáng bù xī — to strive unremittingly
- 良辰美景 — liáng chén měi jǐng — fine time, beautiful scenery (idiom) · everything lovely
- 节外生枝 / 節外生枝 — jié wài shēng zhī — new problems arise unexpectedly
- 花花世界 — huā huā shì jiè — the teeming world
- 花言巧语 / 花言巧語 — huā yán qiǎo yǔ — graceful words, flowery speech (idiom) · elegant but insincere words
- 若有所思 — ruò yǒu suǒ sī — looking pensive · thoughtfully
- 苦尽甘来 / 苦盡甘來 — kǔ jìn gān lái — bitterness finishes, sweetness begins (idiom) · the hard times are over, the good times just beginning
- 蜻蜓点水 / 蜻蜓點水 — qīng tíng diǎn shuǐ — literally the dragonfly touches the water lightly
- 蝇头小利 / 蠅頭小利 — yíng tóu xiǎo lì — meager profit · petty gain
- 血本无归 / 血本無歸 — xuè běn wú guī — to lose everything one invested · to lose one's shirt
- 见仁见智 / 見仁見智 — jiàn rén jiàn zhì — opinions differ (idiom)