Chengyu

Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 37

Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.

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• 违法乱纪 / 違法亂紀 — wéi fǎ luàn jì — to break the law and violate the rules (idiom)
• 邯郸学步 / 邯鄲學步 — hán dān xué bù — to copy the way they walk in Handan (idiom)
• 铺张浪费 / 鋪張浪費 — pū zhāng làng fèi — extravagance and waste (idiom)
• 长年累月 / 長年累月 — cháng nián lěi yuè — year in, year out (idiom)
• 隔三差五 — gé sān chà wǔ — every few days · every once in a while
• 隔岸观火 / 隔岸觀火 — gé àn guān huǒ — to watch the fires burning across the river
• 青红皂白 / 青紅皂白 — qīng hóng zào bái — the rights and wrongs of a matter (idiom)
• 非亲非故 / 非親非故 — fēi qīn fēi gù — literally neither a relative nor a friend (idiom)
• 颠沛流离 / 顛沛流離 — diān pèi liú lí — homeless and miserable (idiom) · to wander about in a desperate plight · to drift
• 风雨同舟 / 風雨同舟 — fēng yǔ tóng zhōu — literally in the same boat under wind and rain (idiom) · figuratively to stick together in hard times
• 食不果腹 — shí bù guǒ fù — literally food not filling the stomach (idiom)
• 食古不化 — shí gǔ bù huà — to swallow ancient learning without digesting it (idiom)
• 鱼死网破 / 魚死網破 — yú sǐ wǎng pò — literally either the fish dies or the net splits
• 黯然神伤 / 黯然神傷 — àn rán shén shāng — depressed · dispirited
• 一失足成千古恨 — yī shī zú chéng qiān gǔ hèn — a single slip may cause everlasting sorrow (idiom)
• 一年半载 / 一年半載 — yī nián bàn zǎi — about a year
• 一手包办 / 一手包辦 — yī shǒu bāo bàn — to take care of a matter all by oneself
• 一步到位 — yī bù dào wèi — to accomplish in one step · to achieve the desired result in one go
• 一马平川 / 一馬平川 — yī mǎ píng chuān — flat land one could gallop straight across (idiom) · wide expanse of flat country
• 下里巴人 — xià lǐ bā rén — folk songs of the state of Chu 楚国 Chǔ guó
• 不祥之兆 — bù xiáng zhī zhào — bad omen
• 不约而同 / 不約而同 — bù yuē ér tóng — (of two or more people) to take the same action without prior consultation · (usually used adverbially) all (or both) of them, independently · as if by prior agreement
• 不绝于耳 / 不絕於耳 — bù jué yú ěr — to never stop
• 不胜枚举 / 不勝枚舉 — bù shèng méi jǔ — too numerous to mention individually or one by one
• 两袖清风 / 兩袖清風 — liǎng xiù qīng fēng — literally both sleeves flowing in the breeze (idiom) · having clean hands
• 丧尽天良 / 喪盡天良 — sàng jìn tiān liáng — devoid of conscience (idiom) · utterly heartless
• 乐极生悲 / 樂極生悲 — lè jí shēng bēi — extreme joy turns to sorrow (idiom) · Don't celebrate too soon, things could still go wrong!
• 争名夺利 / 爭名奪利 — zhēng míng duó lì — to fight for fame, grab profit (idiom) · scrambling for fame and wealth
• 争权夺利 / 爭權奪利 — zhēng quán duó lì — scramble for power and profit (idiom) · power struggle
• 事在人为 / 事在人為 — shì zài rén wéi — the matter depends on the individual (idiom) · it is a matter for your own effort
• 以讹传讹 / 以訛傳訛 — yǐ é chuán é — to spread falsehoods
• 任人唯亲 / 任人唯親 — rèn rén wéi qīn — to practice nepotism or cronyism in making appointments
• 众口一词 / 眾口一詞 — zhòng kǒu yī cí — all of one voice
• 侃侃而谈 / 侃侃而談 — kǎn kǎn ér tán — to speak frankly with assurance
• 假公济私 / 假公濟私 — jiǎ gōng jì sī — official authority used for private interests (idiom) · to attain private ends by abusing public position
• 先天不足 — xiān tiān bù zú — to suffer from a congenital deficiency · to have an inherent weakness
• 先礼后兵 / 先禮後兵 — xiān lǐ hòu bīng — try persuasion before resorting to force
• 光宗耀祖 — guāng zōng yào zǔ — to bring honor to one's ancestors
• 关怀备至 / 關懷備至 — guān huái bèi zhì — the utmost care (idiom) · to look after someone in every possible way
• 兵荒马乱 / 兵荒馬亂 — bīng huāng mǎ luàn — war-torn · ravaged by war · in a state of utter chaos
• 冥顽不灵 / 冥頑不靈 — míng wán bù líng — pigheaded
• 刚愎自用 / 剛愎自用 — gāng bì zì yòng — obstinate and self-opinionated (idiom)
• 势不两立 / 勢不兩立 — shì bù liǎng lì — the two cannot exist together (idiom) · irreconcilable differences
• 势单力薄 / 勢單力薄 — shì dān lì bó — lacking strength and support
• 半壁江山 — bàn bì jiāng shān — half of the country (especially when half the country has fallen into enemy hands)
• 半路出家 — bàn lù chū jiā — to enter monastic life at a mature age (idiom)
• 历久弥新 / 歷久彌新 — lì jiǔ mí xīn — literally long in existence but ever new (idiom)
• 双喜临门 / 雙喜臨門 — shuāng xǐ lín mén — two simultaneous happy events in the family
• 口出狂言 — kǒu chū kuáng yán — to speak conceited nonsense
• 吃里扒外 / 吃裡扒外 — chī lǐ pá wài — to work against the interests of someone one derives support from · to double-cross one's employer · to bite the hand that feeds