Home > Blossary: Chinese Idioms (Chengyu - 成语)
Chinese is an ancient language and so has a wealth of fascinating idiomatic expressions referred to as chengyu (成语) that reveal not only the poetry of the language but the incredible culture that is its backdrop.

Category: Culture

Company: CSOFT

10 Terms

Created by: CSOFT International

Number of Blossarys: 3

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This idiom literally means to walk or step on solid ground. Basically, it's a way of saying 'focus on the fundamentals, keep working hard, and don't stop'. This is a great saying for bosses to ...

Domain: Culture; Category: General culture

Zì yoú zì zaì is that old free and easy feeling. It can be said of a person's (or animal's, I suppose) attitude, personality, or behavior, or can describe the a feeling, whether given by a place or a ...

Domain: Culture; Category: General culture

Literally this phrase means to "throw out a brick to attract jade" and means to toss an idea out there. Perhaps you know the idea isn't great but you're hoping just throwing it out there in the hopes ...

Domain: Culture; Category: General culture

There's a very similar expression to this idiom in English: easier said than done. But the Chinese version of this saying is slightly more combative, literally meaning "talking of what is easy"?

Domain: Culture; Category: General culture

The meaning of this idiom is relatively straightforward - "self-contradictory" - but the story behind it is fascinating. It comes from an ancient tale of a salesman who claimed that he sold a spear ...

Domain: Culture; Category: General culture

Literally, this idiom means to draw a snake but add a foot. The meaning behind it is that something has been ruined by trying to add something unnecessary. We have a similar expression in English, ...

Domain: Culture; Category: General culture

Similar to the English expression - "to cast pearls before swine" - this idiom means to "play the qin (an ancient Chinese wind instrument) for a cow." It is usually used to indicate that someone is ...

Domain: Culture; Category: General culture

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