Chinese idioms (chengyu)
A Chinese idiom, or chengyu (成语), is a four-character phrase with a fixed meaning, like 一路顺风 (yī lù shùn fēng): "Have a good trip; bon voyage." These 30 are all on the HSK 3.0 word list, at levels 5 to 7-9, each with an example sentence.
| Chengyu | Pinyin | Word for word | Meaning | HSK 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一路顺风 | yī lù shùn fēng | whole road, favorable wind | Have a good trip; bon voyage. | 5 |
| 丰富多彩 | fēng fù duō cǎi | rich, abundant, many colors | Rich and varied; full of variety. | 5 |
| 五颜六色 | wǔ yán liù sè | five colors, six hues | Colorful; of many different colors. | 5 |
| 一帆风顺 | yī fān fēng shùn | one sail, wind favorable | Smooth sailing; everything going well without setbacks. | 6 |
| 一模一样 | yī mú yī yàng | one mold, one appearance | Exactly the same; identical. | 6 |
| 人山人海 | rén shān rén hǎi | people mountain, people sea | Huge crowds; a sea of people. | 6 |
| 众所周知 | zhòng suǒ zhōu zhī | what the multitude all know | As everyone knows; well known to all. | 6 |
| 多才多艺 | duō cái duō yì | many talents, many arts | Versatile; gifted in many things. | 6 |
| 大吃一惊 | dà chī yī jīng | greatly suffer one shock | To be greatly surprised or shocked. | 6 |
| 自言自语 | zì yán zì yǔ | self speak, self talk | To talk to oneself. | 6 |
| 一举两得 | yī jǔ liǎng dé | one action, two gains | To kill two birds with one stone. | 7-9 |
| 不耻下问 | bù chǐ xià wèn | not ashamed to ask those below | Not too proud to ask questions of people with less status or knowledge. | 7-9 |
| 举一反三 | jǔ yī fǎn sān | raise one, return three | To learn one example and work out the rest by yourself. | 7-9 |
| 井底之蛙 | jǐng dǐ zhī wā | a frog at the bottom of a well | A person with a narrow outlook who thinks their little world is everything. | 7-9 |
| 亡羊补牢 | wáng yáng bǔ láo | lose a sheep, mend the pen | To fix a problem after a loss so it does not happen again; better late than never. | 7-9 |
| 刻舟求剑 | kè zhōu qiú jiàn | carve the boat, seek the sword | To hold on to old methods while circumstances have changed. | 7-9 |
| 半途而废 | bàn tú ér fèi | halfway along the road, then give up | To give up halfway; to leave something unfinished. | 7-9 |
| 南辕北辙 | nán yuán běi zhé | shafts pointing south, wheel tracks going north | To act in a way that takes you further from your goal. | 7-9 |
| 守株待兔 | shǒu zhū dài tù | guard a tree stump, wait for a hare | To wait for luck instead of working; to rely on a lucky chance happening again. | 7-9 |
| 对牛弹琴 | duì niú tán qín | to an ox, play the zither | To talk to the wrong audience; to waste words on someone who cannot understand or appreciate them. | 7-9 |
| 愚公移山 | yú gōng yí shān | the Foolish Old Man moves the mountains | Determination and perseverance can overcome any obstacle. | 7-9 |
| 掩耳盗铃 | yǎn ěr dào líng | cover the ears, steal the bell | To fool oneself by ignoring an obvious problem. | 7-9 |
| 揠苗助长 | yà miáo zhù zhǎng | pull up seedlings to help them grow | To spoil things by forcing them to happen too fast. | 7-9 |
| 水滴石穿 | shuǐ dī shí chuān | water drips, stone is pierced | Steady effort, kept up, achieves what seems impossible. | 7-9 |
| 狼吞虎咽 | láng tūn hǔ yàn | wolf swallows, tiger gulps | To wolf down food; to eat greedily and fast. | 7-9 |
| 画蛇添足 | huà shé tiān zú | draw a snake, add feet | To ruin something by adding what is not needed; overdoing it. | 7-9 |
| 画龙点睛 | huà lóng diǎn jīng | paint a dragon, dot the eyes | The finishing touch that brings a piece of work to life. | 7-9 |
| 纸上谈兵 | zhǐ shàng tán bīng | on paper discuss warfare | Theory with no practical experience; armchair strategy. | 7-9 |
| 胸有成竹 | xiōng yǒu chéng zhú | in the chest there is a finished bamboo | To have a clear plan in mind and feel confident before starting. | 7-9 |
| 自相矛盾 | zì xiāng máo dùn | self mutually spear shield | To contradict oneself. | 7-9 |
Each one in a sentence
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 明天你就要走了，祝你一路顺风！ | míng tiān nǐ jiù yào zǒu le, zhù nǐ yī lù shùn fēng! | You're leaving tomorrow, so have a safe trip! |
| 学校的课外活动丰富多彩。 | xué xiào de kè wài huó dòng fēng fù duō cǎi. | The school offers a rich variety of after-school activities. |
| 花园里开满了五颜六色的花。 | huā yuán lǐ kāi mǎn le wǔ yán liù sè de huā. | The garden is full of flowers of every color. |
| 祝你新的一年工作一帆风顺！ | zhù nǐ xīn de yī nián gōng zuò yī fān fēng shùn! | Wishing you smooth sailing at work in the new year! |
| 这对双胞胎长得一模一样。 | zhè duì shuāng bāo tāi zhǎng de yī mú yī yàng. | These twins look exactly alike. |
| 国庆节的时候，长城上人山人海。 | guó qìng jié de shí hou, Cháng chéng shàng rén shān rén hǎi. | During the National Day holiday, the Great Wall is packed with people. |
| 众所周知，学好一门语言需要时间。 | zhòng suǒ zhōu zhī, xué hǎo yī mén yǔ yán xū yào shí jiān. | As everyone knows, learning a language well takes time. |
| 她多才多艺，会弹钢琴，也会画画。 | tā duō cái duō yì, huì tán gāng qín, yě huì huà huà. | She is very talented: she plays the piano and paints too. |
| 听到这个消息，大家都大吃一惊。 | tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, dà jiā dōu dà chī yī jīng. | Everyone was stunned when they heard the news. |
| 爷爷一边看报纸，一边自言自语。 | yé ye yī biān kàn bào zhǐ, yī biān zì yán zì yǔ. | Grandpa talks to himself as he reads the paper. |
| 骑自行车上班，既锻炼身体又省钱，一举两得。 | qí zì xíng chē shàng bān, jì duàn liàn shēn tǐ yòu shěng qián, yī jǔ liǎng dé. | Cycling to work keeps you fit and saves money: two birds with one stone. |
| 他是教授，可是不耻下问，常常向学生请教。 | tā shì jiào shòu, kě shì bù chǐ xià wèn, cháng cháng xiàng xué sheng qǐng jiào. | He's a professor, yet he's never too proud to ask his students for advice. |
| 学语法要会举一反三。 | xué yǔ fǎ yào huì jǔ yī fǎn sān. | When you learn grammar, you need to be able to apply one example to many cases. |
| 多出去看看，别做井底之蛙。 | duō chū qù kàn kan, bié zuò jǐng dǐ zhī wā. | Get out and see the world; don't be a frog in a well. |
| 虽然丢了一些客户，但亡羊补牢，为时不晚。 | suī rán diū le yī xiē kè hù, dàn wáng yáng bǔ láo, wéi shí bù wǎn. | We have lost some customers, but it's not too late to put things right. |
| 情况已经变了，还用老办法就是刻舟求剑。 | qíng kuàng yǐ jīng biàn le, hái yòng lǎo bàn fǎ jiù shì kè zhōu qiú jiàn. | Things have changed; sticking to the old way is like looking for the sword by the mark on the boat. |
| 学中文不能半途而废。 | xué Zhōng wén bù néng bàn tú ér fèi. | You mustn't give up on Chinese halfway. |
| 想减肥却天天吃夜宵，这不是南辕北辙吗？ | xiǎng jiǎn féi què tiān tiān chī yè xiāo, zhè bù shì nán yuán běi zhé ma? | Wanting to lose weight but eating a late-night snack every day: isn't that working against yourself? |
| 找工作要主动，不能守株待兔。 | zhǎo gōng zuò yào zhǔ dòng, bù néng shǒu zhū dài tù. | You have to go out and look for a job, not just sit and wait for one. |
| 跟他讲艺术简直是对牛弹琴。 | gēn tā jiǎng yì shù jiǎn zhí shì duì niú tán qín. | Talking to him about art is like talking to a brick wall. |
| 只要有愚公移山的精神，没有做不成的事。 | zhǐ yào yǒu yú gōng yí shān de jīng shén, méi yǒu zuò bu chéng de shì. | With the spirit of the Foolish Old Man who moved the mountains, nothing is impossible. |
| 不看成绩单也改变不了分数，这是掩耳盗铃。 | bù kàn chéng jì dān yě gǎi biàn bu liǎo fēn shù, zhè shì yǎn ěr dào líng. | Not looking at your report card won't change your grades; you're only fooling yourself. |
| 孩子才三岁就学这么多，有点揠苗助长。 | hái zi cái sān suì jiù xué zhè me duō, yǒu diǎn yà miáo zhù zhǎng. | Making a three-year-old learn so much is rather like forcing a seedling to grow. |
| 每天学十个生词，水滴石穿，一年后你会看到很大的进步。 | měi tiān xué shí gè shēng cí, shuǐ dī shí chuān, yī nián hòu nǐ huì kàn dào hěn dà de jìn bù. | Learn ten new words a day; little by little, in a year you'll see real progress. |
| 他饿坏了，狼吞虎咽地吃完了一碗面。 | tā è huài le, láng tūn hǔ yàn de chī wán le yī wǎn miàn. | He was starving and wolfed down a bowl of noodles. |
| 文章已经很好了，再加这一段就是画蛇添足。 | wén zhāng yǐ jīng hěn hǎo le, zài jiā zhè yī duàn jiù shì huà shé tiān zú. | The essay is already good; adding this paragraph would only spoil it. |
| 最后一句话是整篇文章的画龙点睛之笔。 | zuì hòu yī jù huà shì zhěng piān wén zhāng de huà lóng diǎn jīng zhī bǐ. | The last sentence is the finishing touch that brings the whole essay to life. |
| 没有实际经验，说得再好也只是纸上谈兵。 | méi yǒu shí jì jīng yàn, shuō de zài hǎo yě zhǐ shì zhǐ shàng tán bīng. | Without real experience, however well you talk, it's only theory. |
| 他准备得很充分，对这次面试胸有成竹。 | tā zhǔn bèi de hěn chōng fèn, duì zhè cì miàn shì xiōng yǒu chéng zhú. | He has prepared thoroughly and goes into the interview confident. |
| 你刚才说的和现在说的自相矛盾。 | nǐ gāng cái shuō de hé xiàn zài shuō de zì xiāng máo dùn. | What you said just now contradicts what you're saying now. |
Where some of them come from
- 不耻下问 (bù chǐ xià wèn): The Analects (论语).
- 举一反三 (jǔ yī fǎn sān): From the Analects (论语): Confucius would not go on with a student who, shown one corner, could not work out the other three.
- 井底之蛙 (jǐng dǐ zhī wā): Zhuangzi (庄子), from the frog in a shallow well.
- 亡羊补牢 (wáng yáng bǔ láo): Strategies of the Warring States (战国策).
- 刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn): Lüshi Chunqiu (吕氏春秋): a man dropped his sword from a moving boat, cut a mark on the side where it fell, and searched the water below the mark when the boat stopped.
- 南辕北辙 (nán yuán běi zhé): Strategies of the Warring States (战国策): a man heading north for the state of Chu, which lay to the south, insisted his fine horse and plentiful money would get him there.
- 守株待兔 (shǒu zhū dài tù): Han Feizi (韩非子): a farmer saw a hare run into a tree stump and break its neck, so he gave up farming to wait by the stump for another.
- 愚公移山 (yú gōng yí shān): Liezi (列子): an old man set out to dig away the two mountains blocking his door, saying his descendants would carry on the work after him.
- 掩耳盗铃 (yǎn ěr dào líng): Lüshi Chunqiu (吕氏春秋), where a thief covers his own ears while stealing a bell, as if no one else could hear it either.
- 揠苗助长 (yà miáo zhù zhǎng): Mencius (孟子): a farmer of Song pulled at his seedlings to make them grow faster, and they all withered.
- 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú): Strategies of the Warring States (战国策): in a race to draw a snake for a pot of wine, the man who finished first added feet to it and lost, because a snake has no feet.
- 画龙点睛 (huà lóng diǎn jīng): A story about the painter Zhang Sengyou, recorded in Zhang Yanyuan's Lidai minghua ji (历代名画记): when he painted in the eyes of his dragons, they flew away.
- 纸上谈兵 (zhǐ shàng tán bīng): Records of the Grand Historian (史记): Zhao Kuo, who could discuss military books brilliantly, led the army of Zhao to disaster at Changping.
- 胸有成竹 (xiōng yǒu chéng zhú): From Su Shi's account of the painter Wen Tong (文与可), who pictured the whole bamboo in his mind before he painted it.
- 自相矛盾 (zì xiāng máo dùn): Han Feizi (韩非子): a man selling a spear and a shield boasted that the spear could pierce anything and the shield could stop anything, until someone asked what would happen if the spear struck the shield.
Looking for full sayings? See Chinese proverbs.
Frequently asked questions
What is a chengyu?
A 成语 (chéngyǔ) is a fixed four-character expression, most often with a story or a classical source behind it. Its meaning is rarely the sum of its characters, so it is learned as one unit.
Are chengyu on the HSK?
Yes. The new HSK 3.0 word list includes 30 of the ones on this page, and the higher levels include many more. Each row shows the level.
What is a common Chinese idiom?
一路顺风 (yī lù shùn fēng): Have a good trip; bon voyage.
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