Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 6
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 打草惊蛇 / 打草驚蛇 — dǎ cǎo jīng shé — literally beat the grass to scare the snake (idiom)
- 无计可施 / 無計可施 — wú jì kě shī — to have no strategy to apply (idiom)
- 生死攸关 / 生死攸關 — shēng sǐ yōu guān — matter of life and death
- 白手起家 — bái shǒu qǐ jiā — to build up from nothing · to start from scratch
- 自暴自弃 / 自暴自棄 — zì bào zì qì — to abandon oneself to despair
- 至高无上 / 至高無上 — zhì gāo wú shàng — supreme
- 融为一体 / 融為一體 — róng wéi yī tǐ — to fuse together (idiom)
- 华而不实 / 華而不實 — huá ér bù shí — flower but no fruit (idiom) · handsome exterior but hollow inside
- 同归于尽 / 同歸於盡 — tóng guī yú jìn — to die in such a way that someone (or something) else also perishes
- 坐立不安 — zuò lì bù ān — literally agitated sitting or standing (idiom)
- 感同身受 — gǎn tóng shēn shòu — to feel as if it had happened to oneself
- 提心吊胆 / 提心吊膽 — tí xīn diào dǎn — nervous · fearful · on edge
- 毫不留情 — háo bù liú qíng — to show no quarter
- 遮遮掩掩 — zhē zhē yǎn yǎn — to be secretive · to try to cover up (idiom)
- 雪上加霜 — xuě shàng jiā shuāng — to make matters even worse
- 大海捞针 / 大海撈針 — dà hǎi lāo zhēn — literally to fish a needle from the sea
- 寻欢作乐 / 尋歡作樂 — xún huān zuò lè — pleasure seeking (idiom) · life of dissipation
- 无价之宝 / 無價之寶 — wú jià zhī bǎo — priceless treasure
- 混为一谈 / 混為一談 — hùn wéi yī tán — to confuse one thing with another (idiom) · to muddle
- 身不由己 — shēn bù yóu jǐ — (of one's circumstances) beyond one's control · unable to do anything about it · (of one's actions) not subject to conscious control (that is, done in spite of oneself)
- 价值连城 / 價值連城 — jià zhí lián chéng — invaluable · priceless
- 坚持不懈 / 堅持不懈 — jiān chí bù xiè — to persevere unremittingly · to keep going until the end
- 大打出手 — dà dǎ chū shǒu — to come to blows
- 心神不宁 / 心神不寧 — xīn shén bù níng — to feel ill at ease
- 突如其来 / 突如其來 — tū rú qí lái — to arise abruptly
- 自命不凡 — zì mìng bù fán — to think too much of oneself
- 自食其果 — zì shí qí guǒ — to eat one's own fruit (idiom) · figuratively suffering the consequences of one's own action
- 刀枪不入 / 刀槍不入 — dāo qiāng bù rù — literally impervious to sword or spear (idiom)
- 匪夷所思 — fěi yí suǒ sī — unimaginable
- 夜以继日 / 夜以繼日 — yè yǐ jì rì — night and day (idiom) · continuous strenuous effort
- 如释重负 / 如釋重負 — rú shì zhòng fù — as if relieved from a burden (idiom)
- 活蹦乱跳 / 活蹦亂跳 — huó bèng luàn tiào — to leap and frisk about (idiom) · lively
- 重操旧业 / 重操舊業 — chóng cāo jiù yè — to resume one's old trade
- 千里迢迢 — qiān lǐ tiáo tiáo — from a great distance · (to come) from afar
- 心满意足 / 心滿意足 — xīn mǎn yì zú — perfectly contented (idiom) · perfectly satisfied
- 无法无天 / 無法無天 — wú fǎ wú tiān — defiant of the law and lacking any sense of morality · lawless · out of control · unruly
- 无精打采 / 無精打采 — wú jīng dǎ cǎi — dispirited and downcast (idiom) · listless · in low spirits
- 近在咫尺 — jìn zài zhǐ chǐ — very close · almost within reach · close at hand
- 孤军奋战 / 孤軍奮戰 — gū jūn fèn zhàn — literally lone army putting up a brave fight (idiom)
- 挨家挨户 / 挨家挨戶 — āi jiā āi hù — to go from house to house
- 蠢蠢欲动 / 蠢蠢欲動 — chǔn chǔn yù dòng — to begin to stir (idiom) · to get restless · to become threatening
- 针锋相对 / 針鋒相對 — zhēn fēng xiāng duì — to oppose each other with equal harshness (idiom) · tit for tat
- 隐姓埋名 / 隱姓埋名 — yǐn xìng mái míng — to conceal one's identity
- 一笔勾销 / 一筆勾銷 — yī bǐ gōu xiāo — to write off at one stroke
- 前功尽弃 / 前功盡棄 — qián gōng jìn qì — to waste all one's previous efforts (idiom)
- 大名鼎鼎 — dà míng dǐng dǐng — grand reputation
- 改邪归正 / 改邪歸正 — gǎi xié guī zhèng — to mend one's ways (idiom)
- 死气沉沉 / 死氣沉沉 — sǐ qì chén chén — dead atmosphere
- 水深火热 / 水深火熱 — shuǐ shēn huǒ rè — deep water and scorching fire
- 翻天覆地 — fān tiān fù dì — sky and the earth turning upside down (idiom) · figuratively complete confusion