Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 54
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 鱼米之乡 / 魚米之鄉 — yú mǐ zhī xiāng — land of fish and rice
- 逆流而上 — nì liú ér shàng — to sail against the current
- 孑然一身 — jié rán yī shēn — to be all alone in the world
- 祸从口出 / 禍從口出 — huò cóng kǒu chū — Trouble issues from the mouth (idiom). A loose tongue may cause a lot of trouble.
- 漏网之鱼 / 漏網之魚 — lòu wǎng zhī yú — a fish that escaped the net (idiom)
- 苦中作乐 / 苦中作樂 — kǔ zhōng zuò lè — to find joy in sorrows (idiom) · to enjoy something in spite of one's suffering
- 兵不血刃 — bīng bù xuè rèn — literally no blood on the men's swords (idiom) · figuratively an effortless victory
- 魂不守舍 — hún bù shǒu shè — to be preoccupied (idiom)
- 手到擒来 / 手到擒來 — shǒu dào qín lái — stretch a hand and grab it (idiom) · very easy
- 血肉横飞 / 血肉橫飛 — xuè ròu héng fēi — flesh and blood flying in all directions · carnage
- 虚怀若谷 / 虛懷若谷 — xū huái ruò gǔ — receptive as an echoing canyon (idiom) · modest and open-minded
- 做贼心虚 / 做賊心虛 — zuò zéi xīn xū — to feel guilty as a thief (idiom) · to have something on one's conscience
- 人生如梦 / 人生如夢 — rén shēng rú mèng — life is but a dream (idiom)
- 地大物博 — dì dà wù bó — vast territory with abundant resources (idiom)
- 大富大贵 / 大富大貴 — dà fù dà guì — very rich
- 罪有应得 / 罪有應得 — zuì yǒu yīng dé — guilty and deserves to be punished (idiom) · entirely appropriate chastisement
- 长期共存 / 長期共存 — cháng qī gòng cún — long-term coexistence
- 塞翁失马 / 塞翁失馬 — sài wēng shī mǎ — literally the old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the best (idiom)
- 言而无信 / 言而無信 — yán ér wú xìn — untrustworthy · not true to one's word
- 狗急跳墙 / 狗急跳牆 — gǒu jí tiào qiáng — a cornered dog will jump over the wall (idiom)
- 一家之主 — yī jiā zhī zhǔ — master of the house · head of the family
- 宽宏大量 / 寬宏大量 — kuān hóng dà liàng — magnanimous (idiom) · generous
- 目不斜视 / 目不斜視 — mù bù xié shì — not to glance sideways (idiom)
- 飞扬跋扈 / 飛揚跋扈 — fēi yáng bá hù — bossy and domineering
- 弦外之音 — xián wài zhī yīn — overtone (music)
- 怒目而视 / 怒目而視 — nù mù ér shì — to glare at
- 表里不一 / 表裡不一 — biǎo lǐ bù yī — outside appearance and inner reality differ (idiom) · not what it seems
- 梨花带雨 / 梨花帶雨 — lí huā dài yǔ — literally like raindrops on a pear blossom (idiom)
- 一炮打响 / 一炮打響 — yī pào dǎ xiǎng — to hit the jackpot with a single shot · to achieve success at one's first try
- 水火不容 — shuǐ huǒ bù róng — completely incompatible
- 不能自已 — bù néng zì yǐ — unable to control oneself
- 三十而立 — sān shí ér lì — thirty years old and therefore independent (idiom, from Confucius)
- 酩酊大醉 — mǐng dǐng dà zuì — dead drunk · plastered · as drunk as a lord
- 回光返照 — huí guāng fǎn zhào — final radiance of setting sun
- 富可敌国 / 富可敵國 — fù kě dí guó — having wealth equivalent to that of an entire nation (idiom)
- 浩如烟海 / 浩如煙海 — hào rú yān hǎi — vast as the open sea (idiom) · figuratively extensive (library)
- 草木皆兵 — cǎo mù jiē bīng — literally every tree or bush an enemy soldier (idiom) · figuratively to panic and treat everyone as an enemy
- 自立门户 / 自立門戶 — zì lì mén hù — to form one's own group or school of thought
- 劫后余生 / 劫後餘生 — jié hòu yú shēng — to be a survivor of a calamity
- 扶老携幼 / 扶老攜幼 — fú lǎo xié yòu — taking everyone along, young and old
- 饥不择食 / 飢不擇食 — jī bù zé shí — when hungry, you can't pick what you eat (idiom) · beggars can't be choosers · When matters are urgent, don't spend time choosing alternatives.
- 量入为出 / 量入為出 — liàng rù wéi chū — to assess one's income and spend accordingly (idiom) · to live within one's means
- 众叛亲离 / 眾叛親離 — zhòng pàn qīn lí — literally people rebelling and friends deserting (idiom)
- 自怨自艾 — zì yuàn zì yì — to be full of remorse
- 玉石俱焚 — yù shí jù fén — to burn both jade and common stone
- 地广人稀 / 地廣人稀 — dì guǎng rén xī — vast, but sparsely populated
- 洗心革面 — xǐ xīn gé miàn — literally to wash one's heart and renew one's face (idiom) · to repent sincerely and mend one's mistaken ways
- 借刀杀人 / 借刀殺人 — jiè dāo shā rén — to lend someone a knife to kill someone
- 同日而语 / 同日而語 — tóng rì ér yǔ — literally to speak of two things on the same day (idiom) · to mention things on equal terms (often with negatives: you can't mention X at the same time as Y)
- 包办代替 / 包辦代替 — bāo bàn dài tì — to do everything oneself (idiom) · not to allow others in on the act