Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 35
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 吃苦耐劳 / 吃苦耐勞 — chī kǔ nài láo — hardworking and enduring hardships (idiom)
- 同床异梦 / 同床異夢 — tóng chuáng yì mèng — literally to share the same bed with different dreams (idiom) · ostensible partners with different agendas
- 听而不闻 / 聽而不聞 — tīng ér bù wén — to hear but not react (idiom) · to turn a deaf ear
- 品学兼优 / 品學兼優 — pǐn xué jiān yōu — excelling both in morals and studies (idiom) · top marks for studies and for behavior (at school)
- 啼笑皆非 — tí xiào jiē fēi — literally not to know whether to laugh or cry (idiom)
- 喜气洋洋 / 喜氣洋洋 — xǐ qì yáng yáng — full of joy (idiom) · jubilation
- 囊中羞涩 / 囊中羞澀 — náng zhōng xiū sè — to be embarrassingly short of money
- 四面楚歌 — sì miàn chǔ gē — literally on all sides, the songs of Chu (idiom)
- 地久天长 / 地久天長 — dì jiǔ tiān cháng — see 天长地久 tiān cháng dì jiǔ
- 地动山摇 / 地動山搖 — dì dòng shān yáo — the earth quaked, the mountains shook (idiom) · a tremendous battle
- 坐收渔利 / 坐收漁利 — zuò shōu yú lì — benefit from others' dispute (idiom)
- 声名鹊起 / 聲名鵲起 — shēng míng què qǐ — to rise to fame
- 外强中干 / 外強中乾 — wài qiáng zhōng gān — strong in appearance but weak in reality (idiom)
- 大义凛然 / 大義凜然 — dà yì lǐn rán — devotion to righteousness that inspires reverence (idiom)
- 大有文章 — dà yǒu wén zhāng — some deeper meaning in this
- 大逆不道 — dà nì bù dào — disgraceful (of behavior that is unfilial, rebellious or otherwise in grave breach of the norms of society)
- 奋发图强 / 奮發圖強 — fèn fā tú qiáng — to work energetically for prosperity (of the country)
- 宝刀不老 / 寶刀不老 — bǎo dāo bù lǎo — literally a good sword always remains sharp (idiom)
- 将心比心 / 將心比心 — jiāng xīn bǐ xīn — to put oneself in someone else's shoes (idiom)
- 小巧玲珑 / 小巧玲瓏 — xiǎo qiǎo líng lóng — dainty · delicate · exquisite
- 山珍海味 — shān zhēn hǎi wèi — exotic delicacies
- 左右逢源 — zuǒ yòu féng yuán — literally to strike water right and left (idiom)
- 平分秋色 — píng fēn qiū sè — to both share the limelight · to both have an equal share of
- 康庄大道 / 康莊大道 — kāng zhuāng dà dào — broad and open road (idiom) · figuratively brilliant future prospects
- 当家作主 / 當家作主 — dāng jiā zuò zhǔ — to be in charge in one's own house (idiom)
- 忙里偷闲 / 忙裡偷閑 — máng lǐ tōu xián — to snatch a moment of leisure in the midst of a busy schedule
- 急中生智 — jí zhōng shēng zhì — quick witted in an emergency
- 急于求成 / 急於求成 — jí yú qiú chéng — anxious for quick results (idiom) · to demand instant success
- 恋恋不舍 / 戀戀不捨 — liàn liàn bù shě — reluctant to part
- 悔过自新 / 悔過自新 — huǐ guò zì xīn — to repent and start afresh (idiom) · to turn over a new leaf
- 戛然而止 — jiá rán ér zhǐ — with a grunting sound it stops (idiom) · to come to an end spontaneously (especially of sound)
- 扬长避短 / 揚長避短 — yáng cháng bì duǎn — to foster strengths and avoid weaknesses (idiom)
- 投石问路 / 投石問路 — tóu shí wèn lù — literally to toss a stone to find out what's ahead (idiom)
- 掌声雷动 / 掌聲雷動 — zhǎng shēng léi dòng — thunderous applause (idiom)
- 推陈出新 / 推陳出新 — tuī chén chū xīn — to push out the old and bring in the new (idiom) · to innovate
- 插翅难飞 / 插翅難飛 — chā chì nán fēi — literally even given wings, you couldn't fly (idiom) · figuratively impossible to escape
- 故态复萌 / 故態復萌 — gù tài fù méng — to revert to old ways
- 文质彬彬 / 文質彬彬 — wén zhì bīn bīn — refined in manner
- 日积月累 / 日積月累 — rì jī yuè lěi — to accumulate over a long period of time
- 明日黄花 / 明日黃花 — míng rì huáng huā — literally chrysanthemums after the Double Ninth Festival (idiom)
- 暴殄天物 — bào tiǎn tiān wù — to waste natural resources recklessly
- 望子成龙 / 望子成龍 — wàng zǐ chéng lóng — literally to hope one's son becomes a dragon (idiom) · figuratively to long for one' s child to succeed in life
- 横行霸道 / 橫行霸道 — héng xíng bà dào — to oppress
- 欺世盗名 / 欺世盜名 — qī shì dào míng — to fool the world and usurp a good name
- 歃血为盟 / 歃血為盟 — shà xuè wéi méng — to smear the lips with blood when taking an oath (idiom)
- 此消彼长 / 此消彼長 — cǐ xiāo bǐ zhǎng — one declines while the other flourishes · one loses out when the other one gains (as in a trade-off or a zero-sum game)
- 殚精竭虑 / 殫精竭慮 — dān jīng jié lǜ — to exhaust one's thoughts and ingenuity (idiom) · to think something through thoroughly
- 毅然决然 / 毅然決然 — yì rán jué rán — without hesitation
- 汗如雨下 — hàn rú yǔ xià — sweating like rain (idiom) · to perspire profusely · sweating like a pig
- 汗马功劳 / 汗馬功勞 — hàn mǎ gōng láo — war exploits