Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 63
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 魑魅魍魉 / 魑魅魍魎 — chī mèi wǎng liǎng — all kinds of malevolent or mischievous spirits
- 忠言逆耳 — zhōng yán nì ěr — loyal advice jars on the ears (idiom)
- 半老徐娘 — bàn lǎo xú niáng — middle-aged but still attractive woman
- 神乎其技 — shén hū qí jì — brilliant
- 汗牛充栋 / 汗牛充棟 — hàn niú chōng dòng — literally enough books to make a pack-ox sweat or to fill a house to the rafters (idiom) · figuratively many books
- 怪模怪样 / 怪模怪樣 — guài mú guài yàng — outlandish
- 悲喜交集 — bēi xǐ jiāo jí — mixed feelings of grief and joy
- 弄假成真 — nòng jiǎ chéng zhēn — pretense that turns into reality (idiom) · to play at make-believe, but accidentally make it true
- 玩火自焚 — wán huǒ zì fén — to play with fire and get burnt (idiom) · figuratively to play with evil and suffer the consequences
- 名誉扫地 / 名譽掃地 — míng yù sǎo dì — to be thoroughly discredited
- 双宿双飞 / 雙宿雙飛 — shuāng sù shuāng fēi — literally to rest and fly together (idiom)
- 善有善报 / 善有善報 — shàn yǒu shàn bào — virtue has its rewards (idiom) · one good turn deserves another
- 公报私仇 / 公報私仇 — gōng bào sī chóu — to use public office to avenge private wrongs
- 谆谆告诫 / 諄諄告誡 — zhūn zhūn gào jiè — to repeatedly advise someone earnestly (idiom)
- 枯木逢春 — kū mù féng chūn — literally the spring comes upon a withered tree (idiom)
- 有教无类 / 有教無類 — yǒu jiào wú lèi — education for everyone, irrespective of background
- 良辰吉日 — liáng chén jí rì — fine time, lucky day (idiom) · figuratively good opportunity
- 肝脑涂地 / 肝腦塗地 — gān nǎo tú dì — to offer one's life in sacrifice
- 条分缕析 / 條分縷析 — tiáo fēn lǚ xī — to analyze thoroughly, point by point (idiom)
- 火中取栗 — huǒ zhōng qǔ lì — literally to pull chestnuts out of the fire (idiom)
- 之乎者也 — zhī hū zhě yě — 之 zhī, 乎 hū, 者 zhě and 也 yě (four grammatical particles of Classical Chinese) (idiom)
- 气息奄奄 / 氣息奄奄 — qì xī yǎn yǎn — to have only a breath of life (idiom)
- 不可言喻 — bù kě yán yù — inexpressible (idiom)
- 不绝如缕 / 不絕如縷 — bù jué rú lǚ — hanging by a thread
- 白面书生 / 白面書生 — bái miàn shū shēng — literally pale-faced scholar (idiom) · young and inexperienced person without practical experience
- 黄袍加身 / 黃袍加身 — huáng páo jiā shēn — literally to take the yellow gown (idiom)
- 满门抄斩 / 滿門抄斬 — mǎn mén chāo zhǎn — to execute the whole family and confiscate their property
- 兵不厌诈 / 兵不厭詐 — bīng bù yàn zhà — deception is justified in war
- 学海无涯 / 學海無涯 — xué hǎi wú yá — sea of learning, no horizon (idiom) · no limits to what one still has to learn
- 久仰大名 — jiǔ yǎng dà míng — I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time (idiom)
- 削足适履 / 削足適履 — xuē zú shì lǚ — to cut the feet to fit the shoes (idiom) · to force something to fit (as to a Procrustean bed)
- 敬业乐群 / 敬業樂群 — jìng yè lè qún — diligent and sociable (idiom) · meticulous in work and dealing cheerfully with one's colleagues
- 蔚为大观 / 蔚為大觀 — wèi wéi dà guān — to afford a magnificent sight (idiom)
- 游移不定 — yóu yí bù dìng — to oscillate without pause (idiom)
- 一团漆黑 / 一團漆黑 — yī tuán qī hēi — pitch-dark
- 造谣生事 / 造謠生事 — zào yáo shēng shì — to start rumours and create trouble
- 文不对题 / 文不對題 — wén bù duì tí — irrelevant
- 放长线钓大鱼 / 放長線釣大魚 — fàng cháng xiàn diào dà yú — use a long line to catch a big fish (idiom) · a long-term plan for major returns
- 妇道人家 / 婦道人家 — fù dao rén jia — woman (derogatory)
- 付之一笑 — fù zhī yī xiào — to dismiss something with a laugh · to laugh it off
- 八拜之交 — bā bài zhī jiāo — sworn brotherhood
- 雁过拔毛 / 雁過拔毛 — yàn guò bá máo — literally to grab feathers from a flying goose
- 盲人摸象 — máng rén mō xiàng — blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅盘经 dà bān Niè pán jīng) · figuratively unable to see the big picture
- 闻鸡起舞 / 聞雞起舞 — wén jī qǐ wǔ — to start practicing at the first crow of the cock (idiom)
- 暗送秋波 — àn sòng qiū bō — to cast flirtatious glances at someone (idiom)
- 坚壁清野 / 堅壁清野 — jiān bì qīng yě — to fortify defenses and raze the fields (idiom) · to leave nothing for the invader
- 假仁假义 / 假仁假義 — jiǎ rén jiǎ yì — hypocrisy
- 一叶知秋 / 一葉知秋 — yī yè zhī qiū — literally the falling of one leaf heralds the coming of autumn (idiom)
- 誓不两立 / 誓不兩立 — shì bù liǎng lì — the two cannot exist together (idiom) · irreconcilable differences
- 揠苗助长 / 揠苗助長 — yà miáo zhù zhǎng — see 拔苗助长 bá miáo zhù zhǎng