Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 44
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 高风亮节 / 高風亮節 — gāo fēng liàng jié — of noble character and unquestionable integrity (idiom)
- 鱼目混珠 / 魚目混珠 — yú mù hùn zhū — to pass off fish eyes for pearls · to pass off fake products as genuine (idiom)
- 黑不溜秋 — hēi bù liū qiū — dark and swarthy
- 一来二去 / 一來二去 — yī lái èr qù — gradually
- 一枝独秀 / 一枝獨秀 — yī zhī dú xiù — literally only one branch of the tree is thriving (idiom)
- 一潭死水 — yī tán sǐ shuǐ — a pool of stagnant water
- 一笔带过 / 一筆帶過 — yī bǐ dài guò — to mention only very briefly · to skate over (a topic)
- 一纸空文 / 一紙空文 — yī zhǐ kōng wén — a worthless piece of paper (idiom)
- 一言堂 — yī yán táng — prices fixed – no bargaining (old)
- 一语道破 / 一語道破 — yī yǔ dào pò — one word says it all (idiom)
- 万马齐喑 / 萬馬齊喑 — wàn mǎ qí yīn — thousands of horses, all mute (idiom) · no-one dares to speak out
- 三顾茅庐 / 三顧茅廬 — sān gù máo lú — literally to make three visits to the thatched cottage (idiom) (allusion to an episode in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三国演义 Sān guó Yǎn yì in which Liu Bei 刘备 Liú Bèi recruits Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮 Zhū gě Liàng to his cause by visiting him three times)
- 不伦不类 / 不倫不類 — bù lún bù lèi — out of place
- 不可名状 / 不可名狀 — bù kě míng zhuàng — indescribable
- 不过意 / 不過意 — bù guò yì — to be sorry · to feel apologetic
- 丧权辱国 / 喪權辱國 — sàng quán rǔ guó — to forfeit sovereignty and humiliate the country (idiom)
- 为富不仁 / 為富不仁 — wéi fù bù rén — to be wealthy and heartless
- 举一反三 / 舉一反三 — jǔ yī fǎn sān — to raise one and infer three
- 举不胜举 / 舉不勝舉 — jǔ bù shèng jǔ — too numerous to list (idiom) · innumerable
- 乘人之危 — chéng rén zhī wēi — to take advantage of someone's precarious position
- 于心不忍 / 於心不忍 — yú xīn bù rěn — can't bear to
- 云山雾罩 / 雲山霧罩 — yún shān wù zhào — enveloped in clouds and mist (idiom)
- 人心所向 — rén xīn suǒ xiàng — that which is yearned for by the public
- 人所共知 — rén suǒ gòng zhī — something that everybody knows
- 从一而终 / 從一而終 — cóng yī ér zhōng — faithful unto death (that is, Confucian ban on widow remarrying)
- 令行禁止 — lìng xíng jìn zhǐ — orders are carried out and prohibitions are observed (idiom)
- 以史为鉴 / 以史為鑒 — yǐ shǐ wéi jiàn — to learn from history (idiom)
- 以逸待劳 / 以逸待勞 — yǐ yì dài láo — to wait at one's ease for the exhausted enemy
- 优哉游哉 / 優哉遊哉 — yōu zāi yóu zāi — see 悠哉悠哉 yōu zāi yōu zāi
- 倚老卖老 / 倚老賣老 — yǐ lǎo mài lǎo — to flaunt one's seniority · to rely on one's age or length of experience to control or belittle others
- 偃旗息鼓 — yǎn qí xī gǔ — literally lay down the flag and still the drums (idiom) · figuratively to cease
- 兵强马壮 / 兵強馬壯 — bīng qiáng mǎ zhuàng — literally strong soldiers and sturdy horses (idiom)
- 冒天下之大不韪 / 冒天下之大不韙 — mào tiān xià zhī dà bù wěi — see 冒大不韪 mào dà bù wěi
- 冰清玉洁 / 冰清玉潔 — bīng qīng yù jié — clear as ice and clean as jade (idiom) · spotless
- 冷冷清清 — lěng lěng qīng qīng — deserted
- 分文不取 — fēn wén bù qǔ — to give for free
- 别开生面 / 別開生面 — bié kāi shēng miàn — to start something new or original (idiom) · to break a new path · to break fresh ground
- 别有洞天 / 別有洞天 — bié yǒu dòng tiān — place of charm and beauty
- 势不可当 / 勢不可當 — shì bù kě dāng — impossible to resist (idiom) · an irresistible force
- 千姿百态 / 千姿百態 — qiān zī bǎi tài — to come in many different shapes · to display a great variety of forms
- 半推半就 — bàn tuī bàn jiù — half willing and half unwilling (idiom) · to yield after making a show of resistance
- 卓尔不群 / 卓爾不群 — zhuó ěr bù qún — standing above the common crowd (idiom) · outstanding
- 叫苦不迭 — jiào kǔ bu dié — to complain without stopping (idiom) · to bitch endlessly
- 叱咤风云 / 叱咤風雲 — chì zhà fēng yún — literally to rebuke Heaven and Earth (idiom) · figuratively shaking the whole world
- 叶落归根 / 葉落歸根 — yè luò guī gēn — a falling leaf returns to the roots (idiom) · everything has its ancestral home
- 各有所好 — gè yǒu suǒ hào — everyone has their likes and dislikes (idiom)
- 同室操戈 — tóng shì cāo gē — wielding the halberd within the household (idiom) · internecine strife
- 名满天下 / 名滿天下 — míng mǎn tiān xià — famous throughout the land · renowned far and wide
- 名落孙山 / 名落孫山 — míng luò sūn shān — literally to fall behind Sun Shan 孙山 Sūn Shān (who came last in the imperial examination) (idiom)
- 后患无穷 / 後患無窮 — hòu huàn wú qióng — there will be no end of trouble in the future