Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 51
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 反客为主 / 反客為主 — fǎn kè wéi zhǔ — literally the guest acts as host (idiom) · figuratively to turn from passive to active behavior
- 姹紫嫣红 / 奼紫嫣紅 — chà zǐ yān hóng — literally beautiful purples and brilliant reds (idiom)
- 唾手可得 — tuò shǒu kě dé — easily obtained
- 七上八下 — qī shàng bā xià — at sixes and sevens
- 无病呻吟 / 無病呻吟 — wú bìng shēn yín — to moan and groan despite not being sick · to feign illness · to complain without cause · (of writing) to indulge in confected sentimentality
- 厚颜无耻 / 厚顏無恥 — hòu yán wú chǐ — shameless
- 莘莘学子 / 莘莘學子 — shēn shēn xué zǐ — a great number of students (idiom)
- 绝口不提 / 絕口不提 — jué kǒu bù tí — to avoid mentioning
- 见利忘义 / 見利忘義 — jiàn lì wàng yì — to abandon moral principles in the pursuit of profit
- 勤俭建国 / 勤儉建國 — qín jiǎn jiàn guó — to build up the country through thrift and hard work
- 一语中的 / 一語中的 — yī yǔ zhòng dì — to hit the mark with a comment · to say something spot on
- 杀人放火 / 殺人放火 — shā rén fàng huǒ — to kill and burn (idiom) · murder and arson
- 釜底抽薪 — fǔ dǐ chōu xīn — to take drastic measures to deal with a situation
- 鳞次栉比 / 鱗次櫛比 — lín cì zhì bǐ — row upon row
- 另眼相看 — lìng yǎn xiāng kàn — to treat someone favorably
- 疑神疑鬼 — yí shén yí guǐ — to suspect everyone
- 人情世故 — rén qíng shì gù — worldly wisdom
- 席地而坐 — xí dì ér zuò — to sit on the ground or the floor
- 升官发财 / 升官發財 — shēng guān fā cái — to be promoted and gain wealth (idiom)
- 内忧外患 / 內憂外患 — nèi yōu wài huàn — internal trouble and outside aggression (idiom) · in a mess both domestically and abroad
- 成双成对 / 成雙成對 — chéng shuāng chéng duì — to form pairs
- 天下大乱 / 天下大亂 — tiān xià dà luàn — the whole country in rebellion
- 添砖加瓦 / 添磚加瓦 — tiān zhuān jiā wǎ — literally contribute bricks and tiles for a building (idiom)
- 祸国殃民 / 禍國殃民 — huò guó yāng mín — to damage the country and cause suffering to the people (idiom)
- 孤家寡人 — gū jiā guǎ rén — one who is cut off from others (idiom) · one who has chosen to follow a solitary path
- 正襟危坐 — zhèng jīn wēi zuò — to sit upright and still (idiom)
- 无疾而终 / 無疾而終 — wú jí ér zhōng — to die without illness (idiom)
- 伤筋动骨 / 傷筋動骨 — shāng jīn dòng gǔ — to suffer serious injury (idiom)
- 崇洋媚外 — chóng yáng mèi wài — to revere everything foreign and pander to overseas powers (idiom) · blind worship of foreign goods and ideas
- 血迹斑斑 / 血跡斑斑 — xuè jì bān bān — bloodstained
- 好吃懒做 / 好吃懶做 — hào chī lǎn zuò — happy to partake but not prepared to do any work (idiom)
- 血流成河 — xuè liú chéng hé — rivers of blood (idiom)
- 指点迷津 / 指點迷津 — zhǐ diǎn mí jīn — to show someone how to get to the right path
- 巧立名目 — qiǎo lì míng mù — to fabricate excuses (idiom)
- 禽兽不如 / 禽獸不如 — qín shòu bù rú — worse than a beast
- 一声不响 / 一聲不響 — yī shēng bù xiǎng — to keep totally silent
- 不可救药 / 不可救藥 — bù kě jiù yào — see 无可救药 wú kě jiù yào
- 麻痹大意 / 麻痺大意 — má bì dà yì — unwary
- 见好就收 / 見好就收 — jiàn hǎo jiù shōu — to quit while one is ahead · to know when to stop
- 察言观色 / 察言觀色 — chá yán guān sè — to weigh up someone's words and observe their facial expression (idiom)
- 痴人说梦 / 痴人說夢 — chī rén shuō mèng — lunatic ravings · nonsense
- 欲盖弥彰 / 欲蓋彌彰 — yù gài mí zhāng — trying to hide it makes it more conspicuous (idiom) · A cover up only makes matters worse.
- 寄人篱下 / 寄人籬下 — jì rén lí xià — to lodge under another person's roof (idiom) · to live relying on someone else's charity
- 绘声绘色 / 繪聲繪色 — huì shēng huì sè — vivid and colorful (idiom) · true to life
- 爱屋及乌 / 愛屋及烏 — ài wū jí wū — literally love the house and its crow (idiom) · involvement with someone and everyone connected
- 鲜血淋漓 / 鮮血淋漓 — xiān xuè lín lí — drenched with blood · dripping with blood
- 飘忽不定 / 飄忽不定 — piāo hū bù dìng — to drift without a resting place (idiom)
- 肝胆相照 / 肝膽相照 — gān dǎn xiāng zhào — to treat one another with absolute sincerity (idiom) · to show total devotion
- 心高气傲 / 心高氣傲 — xīn gāo qì ào — proud and arrogant
- 人浮于事 / 人浮於事 — rén fú yú shì — more hands than needed (idiom) · too many cooks spoil the broth