Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 65
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 娓娓动听 / 娓娓動聽 — wěi wěi dòng tīng — to speak in a pleasant and captivating manner
- 革故鼎新 — gé gù dǐng xīn — to discard the old and introduce the new (idiom) · to innovate
- 路不拾遗 / 路不拾遺 — lù bù shí yí — literally no one picks up lost articles in the street (idiom)
- 一通百通 — yī tōng bǎi tōng — grasp this fundamental point and all the rest will follow (idiom)
- 饱食终日 / 飽食終日 — bǎo shí zhōng rì — to spend the whole day eating (that is, not doing any work)
- 老羞成怒 — lǎo xiū chéng nù — see 恼羞成怒 nǎo xiū chéng nù
- 筚路蓝缕 / 篳路藍縷 — bì lù lán lǚ — the hardships of beginning an undertaking (idiom)
- 洞若观火 / 洞若觀火 — dòng ruò guān huǒ — literally to see something as clearly as one sees a blazing fire (idiom)
- 死乞白赖 / 死乞白賴 — sǐ qi bái lài — to pester someone again and again
- 酒池肉林 — jiǔ chí ròu lín — lakes of wine and forests of meat (idiom) · debauchery
- 理屈词穷 / 理屈詞窮 — lǐ qū cí qióng — literally having presented a flawed argument, one has nothing further to add (idiom)
- 无所不至 / 無所不至 — wú suǒ bù zhì — to reach everywhere
- 奴颜婢膝 / 奴顏婢膝 — nú yán bì xī — servile and bending the knee (idiom) · fawning
- 刻舟求剑 / 刻舟求劍 — kè zhōu qiú jiàn — literally a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom) · figuratively an action made pointless by changed circumstances
- 一面之交 — yī miàn zhī jiāo — to have met once
- 闲话家常 / 閑話家常 — xián huà jiā cháng — to chat about domestic trivia (idiom)
- 气喘如牛 / 氣喘如牛 — qì chuǎn rú niú — to breathe heavily like an ox (idiom)
- 横生枝节 / 橫生枝節 — héng shēng zhī jié — to deliberately complicate an issue (idiom)
- 轻于鸿毛 / 輕於鴻毛 — qīng yú hóng máo — light as a goose feather (idiom) · trifling
- 进退失据 / 進退失據 — jìn tuì shī jù — no room to advance or to retreat (idiom) · at a loss
- 忠君爱国 / 忠君愛國 — zhōng jūn ài guó — to be faithful to the ruler and love one's country
- 永志不忘 — yǒng zhì bù wàng — never to be forgotten
- 言归于好 / 言歸於好 — yán guī yú hǎo — to become reconciled
- 一挥而就 / 一揮而就 — yī huī ér jiù — to finish (a letter, a painting) at a stroke
- 不情之请 / 不情之請 — bù qíng zhī qǐng — (humble expression) my presumptuous request
- 不成体统 / 不成體統 — bù chéng tǐ tǒng — not according with decorum (idiom) · scandalous
- 好为人师 / 好為人師 — hào wéi rén shī — to like to lecture others (idiom)
- 鞭辟入里 / 鞭闢入裡 — biān pì rù lǐ — penetrated
- 便宜行事 — biàn yí xíng shì — act at one's discretion · act as one sees fit
- 贪心不足 / 貪心不足 — tān xīn bù zú — avaricious and insatiable (idiom) · greedy and never satisfied
- 坐卧不宁 / 坐臥不寧 — zuò wò bù níng — to be restless
- 一拥而入 / 一擁而入 — yī yōng ér rù — to swarm in (of people and so on) (idiom)
- 卸磨杀驴 / 卸磨殺驢 — xiè mò shā lǘ — literally to kill the donkey when the grinding is done (idiom)
- 礼崩乐坏 / 禮崩樂壞 — lǐ bēng yuè huài — rites and music are in ruins (idiom) · figuratively society in total disarray
- 大吹大擂 — dà chuī dà léi — to make an exhibition of oneself
- 隔墙有耳 / 隔牆有耳 — gé qiáng yǒu ěr — the walls have ears (idiom)
- 师出无名 / 師出無名 — shī chū wú míng — literally to go to war without just cause (idiom)
- 半壁河山 — bàn bì hé shān — see 半壁江山 bàn bì jiāng shān
- 吉人天相 — jí rén tiān xiàng — see 吉人自有天相 jí rén zì yǒu tiān xiàng
- 除旧布新 / 除舊布新 — chú jiù bù xīn — to get rid of the old to bring in the new (idiom) · to innovate
- 以暴易暴 — yǐ bào yì bào — to replace one tyranny by another
- 文如其人 — wén rú qí rén — the writing style mirrors the writer (idiom)
- 包藏祸心 / 包藏禍心 — bāo cáng huò xīn — to harbor evil intentions · to conceal malice
- 不宣而战 / 不宣而戰 — bù xuān ér zhàn — open hostilities without declaring war
- 后会无期 / 後會無期 — hòu huì wú qī — may never meet again · unlikely to meet again
- 尸位素餐 — shī wèi sù cān — to hold a sinecure (idiom)
- 集腋成裘 — jí yè chéng qiú — many hairs make a fur coat (idiom) · many small contributions add up to something big · many a mickle makes a muckle
- 李代桃僵 — lǐ dài táo jiāng — literally the plum tree withers in place of the peach tree
- 引而不发 / 引而不發 — yǐn ér bù fā — to pull the bow without shooting (idiom from Mencius) · ready and waiting for action
- 吆五喝六 — yāo wǔ hè liù — literally to shout out hoping for fives and sixes when gambling with dice · a hubbub of gambling