Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 59
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 对答如流 / 對答如流 — duì dá rú liú — able to reply quickly and fluently (idiom) · having a ready answer
- 焚书坑儒 / 焚書坑儒 — fén shū kēng rú — to burn the Confucian classics and bury alive the Confucian scholars (acts supposedly committed by the first emperor 秦始皇 Qín Shǐ huáng)
- 拔刀相助 — bá dāo xiāng zhù — see 路见不平，拔刀相助 lù jiàn bù píng , bá dāo xiāng zhù
- 人财两空 / 人財兩空 — rén cái liǎng kōng — to suffer the departure of someone (talented staff or one's spouse and so on) and a financial loss as well · to get burned both romantically and financially
- 成何体统 / 成何體統 — chéng hé tǐ tǒng — What a scandal!
- 知人善任 — zhī rén shàn rèn — expert at appointing people according to their abilities · to put the right people in the right places
- 油腔滑调 / 油腔滑調 — yóu qiāng huá diào — flippant and insincere (piece of writing or speech)
- 茶饭不思 / 茶飯不思 — chá fàn bù sī — no thought for tea or rice (idiom) · melancholic and suffering
- 苟且偷生 — gǒu qiě tōu shēng — to drift and live without purpose (idiom) · to drag out an ignoble existence
- 皮包骨头 / 皮包骨頭 — pí bāo gǔ tóu — to be all skin and bones (idiom)
- 有眼无珠 / 有眼無珠 — yǒu yǎn wú zhū — blind as a bat (figuratively)
- 河东狮吼 / 河東獅吼 — hé dōng shī hǒu — literally the lioness from Hedong roars (idiom)
- 熟门熟路 / 熟門熟路 — shú mén shú lù — familiar
- 贯彻始终 / 貫徹始終 — guàn chè shǐ zhōng — to follow through · to carry through to the end
- 诲人不倦 / 誨人不倦 — huì rén bù juàn — instructing with tireless zeal (idiom, from Analects)
- 教学相长 / 教學相長 — jiào xué xiāng zhǎng — when you teach someone, both teacher and student will benefit
- 不干不净 / 不乾不淨 — bù gān bù jìng — unclean
- 日落西山 — rì luò xī shān — the sun sets over western hills (idiom) · the day approaches its end
- 老奸巨猾 — lǎo jiān jù huá — cunning · crafty · wily old fox
- 借尸还魂 / 借屍還魂 — jiè shī huán hún — literally reincarnated in someone else's body (idiom) · figuratively a discarded or discredited idea returns in another guise
- 锦囊妙计 / 錦囊妙計 — jǐn náng miào jì — brocade sack of miracle plans (idiom) · bag of tricks
- 言犹在耳 / 言猶在耳 — yán yóu zài ěr — words still ringing in one's ears (idiom)
- 四海为家 / 四海為家 — sì hǎi wéi jiā — to regard the four corners of the world all as home (idiom)
- 利令智昏 — lì lìng zhì hūn — to lose one's head through material greed (idiom)
- 料事如神 — liào shì rú shén — to prophesy with supernatural accuracy (idiom)
- 寥寥可数 / 寥寥可數 — liáo liáo kě shǔ — very few
- 趋炎附势 / 趨炎附勢 — qū yán fù shì — to curry favor (idiom) · playing up to those in power
- 人言可畏 — rén yán kě wèi — gossip is a fearful thing (idiom)
- 惩恶扬善 / 懲惡揚善 — chéng è yáng shàn — to uphold virtue and condemn evil (idiom)
- 弃暗投明 / 棄暗投明 — qì àn tóu míng — to renounce the dark and seek the light
- 正中下怀 / 正中下懷 — zhèng zhòng xià huái — exactly what one wants
- 闪烁其词 / 閃爍其詞 — shǎn shuò qí cí — to speak evasively (idiom) · beating about the bush
- 缘木求鱼 / 緣木求魚 — yuán mù qiú yú — literally climb a tree to catch a fish (idiom) · figuratively to attempt the impossible
- 弥天大谎 / 彌天大謊 — mí tiān dà huǎng — a pack of lies (idiom)
- 克己奉公 — kè jǐ fèng gōng — self-restraint and devotion to public duties (idiom) · selfless dedication
- 盖棺定论 / 蓋棺定論 — gài guān dìng lùn — don't pass judgment on a person's life until the lid is on the coffin (idiom)
- 时运不济 / 時運不濟 — shí yùn bù jì — fate is unfavorable (idiom) · the omens are not good
- 借花献佛 / 借花獻佛 — jiè huā xiàn fó — literally presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers (idiom) · figuratively to win favor or influence using someone else's property
- 咄咄怪事 — duō duō guài shì — extraordinary occurrence · bizarre event
- 少见多怪 / 少見多怪 — shǎo jiàn duō guài — a person who has seen little of the world will be astonished by certain things (idiom)
- 追根究底 — zhuī gēn jiū dǐ — to get to the heart of the matter
- 和气生财 / 和氣生財 — hé qì shēng cái — amiability makes you rich
- 一决雌雄 / 一決雌雄 — yī jué cí xióng — to have a showdown · to fight for mastery · to compete for a championship
- 上下其手 — shàng xià qí shǒu — to raise and lower one's hand (idiom) · to signal as conspiratorial hint
- 坐山观虎斗 / 坐山觀虎鬥 — zuò shān guān hǔ dòu — literally sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight (idiom)
- 风行一时 / 風行一時 — fēng xíng yī shí — to be popular for a while · to be all the rage for a time
- 一时半刻 / 一時半刻 — yī shí bàn kè — a short time · a little while
- 粉饰太平 / 粉飾太平 — fěn shì tài píng — to pretend that everything is going well
- 间不容发 / 間不容髮 — jiān bù róng fà — by a hair's breadth (idiom)
- 神机妙算 / 神機妙算 — shén jī miào suàn — divine strategy and wonderful planning (idiom)