Chengyu

Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 64

Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.

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• 万死不辞 / 萬死不辭 — wàn sǐ bù cí — ten thousand deaths will not prevent me (idiom) · ready to risk life and limb to help out
• 刻苦耐劳 / 刻苦耐勞 — kè kǔ nài láo — to bear hardships and work hard (idiom) · assiduous and long-suffering
• 大而无当 / 大而無當 — dà ér wú dàng — grandiose but impractical (idiom)
• 朝秦暮楚 — zhāo qín mù chǔ — serve Qin in the morning Chu in the evening (idiom) · quick to switch sides
• 亡国灭种 / 亡國滅種 — wáng guó miè zhǒng — country destroyed, its people annihilated (idiom) · total destruction
• 文人相轻 / 文人相輕 — wén rén xiāng qīng — scholars tend to disparage one another (idiom)
• 家道中落 — jiā dào zhōng luò — to come down in the world (idiom)
• 山明水秀 — shān míng shuǐ xiù — literally verdant hills and limpid water (idiom)
• 性命攸关 / 性命攸關 — xìng mìng yōu guān — vitally important
• 开卷有益 / 開卷有益 — kāi juàn yǒu yì — literally opening a book is profitable (idiom) · the benefits of education
• 贼眉鼠眼 / 賊眉鼠眼 — zéi méi shǔ yǎn — shifty-eyed
• 披麻戴孝 — pī má dài xiào — to wear mourning clothes
• 贩夫走卒 / 販夫走卒 — fàn fū zǒu zú — literally peddlers and carriers
• 屈打成招 — qū dǎ chéng zhāo — to obtain confessions under torture
• 从心所欲 / 從心所欲 — cóng xīn suǒ yù — whatever you like
• 鱼水之欢 / 魚水之歡 — yú shuǐ zhī huān — the pleasure of close intimacy in a couple (idiom)
• 挂一漏万 / 掛一漏萬 — guà yī lòu wàn — to mention some but omit many others (idiom)
• 口说无凭 / 口說無憑 — kǒu shuō wú píng — you can't rely on a verbal agreement · just because someone says something, doesn't mean it's true
• 敌众我寡 / 敵眾我寡 — dí zhòng wǒ guǎ — multitude of enemies, few friends (idiom from Mencius)
• 花红柳绿 / 花紅柳綠 — huā hóng liǔ lǜ — red flowers and green willow
• 天渊之别 / 天淵之別 — tiān yuān zhī bié — see 天壤之别 tiān rǎng zhī bié
• 文以载道 / 文以載道 — wén yǐ zài dào — words of truth
• 除恶务尽 / 除惡務盡 — chú è wù jìn — to eradicate evil completely (idiom) · thorough in rooting out wickedness
• 心胆俱裂 / 心膽俱裂 — xīn dǎn jù liè — to be scared out of one's wits (idiom)
• 狡兔三窟 — jiǎo tù sān kū — literally a crafty rabbit has three burrows
• 没齿难忘 / 沒齒難忘 — mò chǐ nán wàng — hard to forget even after one's teeth fall out (idiom) · to remember a benefactor as long as one lives
• 耕者有其田 — gèng zhě yǒu qí tián — "land to the tiller", post-Liberation land reform movement instigated by the CCP
• 枕戈待旦 — zhěn gē dài dàn — literally to wait for dawn, one's head resting on a spear (idiom)
• 鸡鸣狗盗 / 雞鳴狗盜 — jī míng gǒu dào — crowing like a cock and stealing like a dog (idiom)
• 各执己见 / 各執己見 — gè zhí jǐ jiàn — each sticks to his own view (idiom) · a dialogue of the deaf
• 欲壑难填 / 慾壑難填 — yù hè nán tián — insatiably greedy
• 是非分明 — shì fēi fēn míng — to distinguish right from wrong (idiom)
• 四仰八叉 — sì yǎng bā chā — sprawled out on one's back
• 七拼八凑 / 七拼八湊 — qī pīn bā còu — assembled at random
• 尾大不掉 — wěi dà bù diào — large tail obstructs action (idiom) · bottom heavy
• 南柯一梦 / 南柯一夢 — nán kē yī mèng — literally a dream of Nanke
• 壁垒森严 / 壁壘森嚴 — bì lěi sēn yán — closely guarded
• 趋吉避凶 / 趨吉避凶 — qū jí bì xiōng — to seek luck and avoid calamity (idiom)
• 直捣黄龙 / 直搗黃龍 — zhí dǎo huáng lóng — literally to directly attack Huanglong
• 追本溯源 — zhuī běn sù yuán — to trace something back to its origin
• 行将就木 / 行將就木 — xíng jiāng jiù mù — to approach one's coffin (idiom) · with one foot in the grave
• 不知进退 / 不知進退 — bù zhī jìn tuì — not knowing when to come or leave (idiom) · with no sense of propriety
• 师出有名 / 師出有名 — shī chū yǒu míng — literally to have sufficient reason to send troops (idiom)
• 奶油小生 — nǎi yóu xiǎo shēng — handsome but effeminate man
• 无事不登三宝殿 / 無事不登三寶殿 — wú shì bù dēng sān bǎo diàn — literally one doesn't visit a temple without a cause (idiom)
• 琼楼玉宇 / 瓊樓玉宇 — qióng lóu yù yǔ — bejeweled jade palace (idiom) · sumptuous dwelling
• 攻其不备 / 攻其不備 — gōng qí bù bèi — see 出其不意，攻其不备 chū qí bù yì , gōng qí bù bèi
• 请君入瓮 / 請君入甕 — qǐng jūn rù wèng — literally please Sir, get into the boiling pot (idiom)
• 穿金戴银 / 穿金戴銀 — chuān jīn dài yín — richly bedecked
• 明媒正娶 — míng méi zhèng qǔ — to be officially wed