Chengyu

Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 42

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

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• 念念有词 / 念念有詞 — niàn niàn yǒu cí — to mumble · to mutter to oneself
• 怅然若失 / 悵然若失 — chàng rán ruò shī — to feel a profound sense of loss · to feel disconsolate
• 愚公移山 — yú gōng yí shān — the old man moves mountains (idiom) · figuratively where there's a will, there's a way
• 愣头愣脑 / 愣頭愣腦 — lèng tóu lèng nǎo — rash
• 成人之美 — chéng rén zhī měi — beauty of helping others succeed · act of helping someone fulfill their wish
• 手不释卷 / 手不釋卷 — shǒu bù shì juàn — literally always with a book in hand (idiom)
• 挥洒自如 / 揮灑自如 — huī sǎ zì rú — to do (something) with great aplomb
• 振聋发聩 / 振聾發聵 — zhèn lóng fā kuì — literally so loud that even the deaf can hear (idiom) · rousing even the apathetic
• 授人以柄 — shòu rén yǐ bǐng — to hand someone the swordhilt (idiom) · to give someone a hold on oneself
• 排山倒海 — pái shān dǎo hǎi — literally to topple the mountains and overturn the seas (idiom) · earth-shattering
• 推而广之 / 推而廣之 — tuī ér guǎng zhī — to apply something more broadly
• 掷地有声 / 擲地有聲 — zhì dì yǒu shēng — literally if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound (idiom)
• 文弱书生 / 文弱書生 — wén ruò shū shēng — frail scholar
• 旗帜鲜明 / 旗幟鮮明 — qí zhì xiān míng — to show one's colors
• 无所不包 / 無所不包 — wú suǒ bù bāo — not excluding anything · all-encompassing
• 无独有偶 / 無獨有偶 — wú dú yǒu ǒu — not alone but in pairs (idiom, usually derogatory) · not a unique occurrence
• 日晒雨淋 / 日曬雨淋 — rì shài yǔ lín — literally exposed to sun and rain (idiom)
• 明察秋毫 — míng chá qiū háo — literally seeing clearly the downy feathers of autumn (idiom, from Mencius)
• 有口皆碑 — yǒu kǒu jiē bēi — every voice gives praise (idiom) · with an extensive public reputation
• 有头有尾 / 有頭有尾 — yǒu tóu yǒu wěi — where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom) · to finish once one starts something
• 有始无终 / 有始無終 — yǒu shǐ wú zhōng — to start but not finish (idiom) · to fail to carry things through
• 有恃无恐 / 有恃無恐 — yǒu shì wú kǒng — secure in the knowledge that one has backing
• 果不其然 — guǒ bù qí rán — just as expected
• 枝繁叶茂 / 枝繁葉茂 — zhī fán yè mào — to grow luxuriantly · (figuratively) (of a family or business and so on) to prosper · to flourish
• 欺行霸市 — qī háng bà shì — to dominate the market through unfair, coercive or monopolistic practices
• 步步为营 / 步步為營 — bù bù wéi yíng — to advance gradually and entrench oneself at every step
• 残垣断壁 / 殘垣斷壁 — cán yuán duàn bì — literally walls reduced to rubble (idiom)
• 毁誉参半 / 毀譽參半 — huǐ yù cān bàn — to receive both praise and criticism · to get mixed reviews
• 沉鱼落雁 / 沉魚落雁 — chén yú luò yàn — literally fish sink, goose alights (idiom, from Zhuangzi 庄子 Zhuāng zǐ) · figuratively female beauty captivating even the birds and beasts
• 泪如雨下 / 淚如雨下 — lèi rú yǔ xià — tears falling like rain (idiom)
• 混淆是非 — hùn xiáo shì fēi — to confuse right and wrong (idiom)
• 温故知新 / 溫故知新 — wēn gù zhī xīn — to review the old and know the new (idiom, from the Analects)
• 渺无人烟 / 渺無人煙 — miǎo wú rén yān — remote and uninhabited (idiom) · deserted
• 溜须拍马 / 溜鬚拍馬 — liū xū pāi mǎ — to smooth whiskers and pat a horse's bottom (idiom) · to use flatter to get what one wants
• 满坑满谷 / 滿坑滿谷 — mǎn kēng mǎn gǔ — all over the place
• 漫山遍野 — màn shān biàn yě — literally covering the mountains and the plains (idiom)
• 独领风骚 / 獨領風騷 — dú lǐng fēng sāo — most outstanding
• 狼心狗肺 — láng xīn gǒu fèi — literally heart of wolf and lungs of dog (idiom)
• 琳琅满目 / 琳瑯滿目 — lín láng mǎn mù — to be a feast for the eyes · to be a cornucopia of delights · to be diverse and abundant
• 由此可见 / 由此可見 — yóu cǐ kě jiàn — from this, it can be seen that...
• 痛定思痛 — tòng dìng sī tòng — to think of the pain when the pain is gone (idiom)
• 痛快淋漓 — tòng kuài lín lí — joyous
• 百年不遇 — bǎi nián bù yù — only met with once every hundred years (drought, flood and so on)
• 百废待兴 / 百廢待興 — bǎi fèi dài xīng — many things waiting to be done (idiom)
• 百无禁忌 / 百無禁忌 — bǎi wú jìn jì — all taboos are off (idiom) · anything goes
• 百步穿杨 / 百步穿楊 — bǎi bù chuān yáng — to shoot with great precision (idiom)
• 皇亲国戚 / 皇親國戚 — huáng qīn guó qī — the emperor relatives (idiom) · person with powerful connections
• 皮开肉绽 / 皮開肉綻 — pí kāi ròu zhàn — flesh lacerated from corporal punishment (idiom)
• 盛极一时 / 盛極一時 — shèng jí yī shí — all the rage for a time
• 相得益彰 — xiāng dé yì zhāng — to bring out the best in each other (idiom)