Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 40
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 贻笑大方 / 貽笑大方 — yí xiào dà fāng — to make a fool of oneself · to make oneself a laughing stock
- 走马观花 / 走馬觀花 — zǒu mǎ guān huā — literally flower viewing from horseback (idiom) · a fleeting glance in passing
- 起早贪黑 / 起早貪黑 — qǐ zǎo tān hēi — to be industrious, rising early and going to bed late
- 踌躇满志 / 躊躇滿志 — chóu chú mǎn zhì — enormously proud of one's success (idiom) · smug
- 身外之物 — shēn wài zhī wù — mere worldly possessions
- 近水楼台 / 近水樓臺 — jìn shuǐ lóu tái — literally a pavilion near the water (idiom) · figuratively using one's proximity to the powerful to obtain favor
- 返璞归真 / 返璞歸真 — fǎn pú guī zhēn — to return to one's true self
- 逼上梁山 — bī shàng liáng shān — driven to join the Liangshan Mountain rebels
- 遮天蔽日 — zhē tiān bì rì — literally hiding the sky and covering the earth (idiom) · figuratively earth-shattering
- 量力而行 — liàng lì ér xíng — to assess one's capabilities and act accordingly (idiom) · to act within one's competence
- 铁面无私 / 鐵面無私 — tiě miàn wú sī — strictly impartial and incorruptible (idiom)
- 门可罗雀 / 門可羅雀 — mén kě luó què — you can net sparrows at the door (idiom)
- 防微杜渐 / 防微杜漸 — fáng wēi dù jiàn — to nip in the bud (idiom)
- 陈规陋习 / 陳規陋習 — chén guī lòu xí — outmoded conventions · old-fashioned ways
- 险象环生 / 險象環生 — xiǎn xiàng huán shēng — dangers spring up all around (idiom) · surrounded by perils
- 难兄难弟 / 難兄難弟 — nàn xiōng nàn dì — companions in hardship · fellow sufferers
- 雷厉风行 / 雷厲風行 — léi lì fēng xíng — pass like thunder and move like the wind (idiom) · swift and decisive reaction
- 面面相觑 / 面面相覷 — miàn miàn xiāng qù — to look at each other in dismay (idiom)
- 风云变幻 / 風雲變幻 — fēng yún biàn huàn — changeable situation (idiom)
- 风吹雨打 / 風吹雨打 — fēng chuī yǔ dǎ — literally windswept and battered by rain
- 风烛残年 / 風燭殘年 — fēng zhú cán nián — one's late days
- 风雨飘摇 / 風雨飄搖 — fēng yǔ piāo yáo — tossed about by the wind and rain (idiom)
- 风韵犹存 / 風韻猶存 — fēng yùn yóu cún — still attractive
- 马失前蹄 / 馬失前蹄 — mǎ shī qián tí — literally the horse loses its front hooves
- 骄兵必败 / 驕兵必敗 — jiāo bīng bì bài — literally an arrogant army is bound to lose (idiom)
- 高朋满座 / 高朋滿座 — gāo péng mǎn zuò — surrounded by distinguished friends (idiom) · in company
- 鱼龙混杂 / 魚龍混雜 — yú lóng hùn zá — literally fish and dragons mixed in together (idiom) · figuratively crooks mixed in with the honest folk
- 黄粱一梦 / 黃粱一夢 — huáng liáng yī mèng — see 黄粱梦 huáng liáng mèng
- 一无所长 / 一無所長 — yī wú suǒ cháng — not having any special skill
- 一病不起 — yī bìng bù qǐ — to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
- 一目十行 — yī mù shí háng — ten lines at a glance (idiom)
- 一脉相承 / 一脈相承 — yī mài xiāng chéng — traceable to the same stock (idiom) · of a common origin (of trends, ideas and so on)
- 万家灯火 / 萬家燈火 — wàn jiā dēng huǒ — ablaze with lights
- 万水千山 / 萬水千山 — wàn shuǐ qiān shān — ten thousand crags and torrents (idiom) · the trials and tribulations of a long journey
- 万紫千红 / 萬紫千紅 — wàn zǐ qiān hóng — thousands of purples and reds (idiom) · a blaze of color
- 万贯家财 / 萬貫家財 — wàn guàn jiā cái — vast wealth
- 三足鼎立 — sān zú dǐng lì — to form a tripartite balance of power
- 不卑不亢 — bù bēi bù kàng — neither servile nor overbearing (idiom) · neither obsequious nor supercilious
- 不甘寂寞 — bù gān jì mò — unwilling to remain lonely or idle · unwilling to be left out
- 不甘示弱 — bù gān shì ruò — not to be outdone
- 不言不语 / 不言不語 — bù yán bù yǔ — to not say a word (idiom)
- 不识时务 / 不識時務 — bù shí shí wù — to show no understanding of the times (idiom) · cannot adapt to current circumstances
- 不过尔尔 / 不過爾爾 — bù guò ěr ěr — not more than so-so (idiom) · mediocre
- 与世长辞 / 與世長辭 — yǔ shì cháng cí — to die
- 世态炎凉 / 世態炎涼 — shì tài yán liáng — the hypocrisy of the world (idiom)
- 东道主 / 東道主 — dōng dào zhǔ — host
- 严惩不贷 / 嚴懲不貸 — yán chéng bù dài — to punish severely (idiom)
- 为虎作伥 / 為虎作倀 — wèi hǔ zuò chāng — to act as accomplice to a villain · to assist in wrongdoing
- 五湖四海 — wǔ hú sì hǎi — all parts of the country
- 五谷丰登 / 五穀豐登 — wǔ gǔ fēng dēng — abundant harvest of all food crops