Common Chinese Chengyu
Four-character Chinese idioms, ranked by how often they appear in the dictionary, with pinyin and English translation.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Translation | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 喜气洋洋喜氣洋洋 | full of joy (idiom) / jubilation | syn | |
| 精打细算精打細算 | meticulous planning and careful accounting (idiom) | syn | |
| 空空如也 | as empty as anything (idiom) / completely bereft / to have nothing / vacuous / hollow / empty (argument, head etc) | syn | |
| 晴天霹雳晴天霹靂 | lit. thunderclap from a clear sky (idiom) / fig. a bolt from the blue | syn | |
| 炉火纯青爐火純青 | lit. the stove fire has turned bright green (allusion to Daoist alchemy) (idiom) / fig. (of an art, a technique etc) brought to the point of perfection | syn | |
| 徇私舞弊 | to abuse one's position for personal gain (idiom) | syn | |
| 相安无事相安無事 | (idiom) to live together in harmony | syn | |
| 百花齐放百花齊放 | a hundred flowers bloom (idiom) / let the arts have free expression | syn | |
| 运筹帷幄運籌帷幄 | lit. to devise battle plan in a tent (idiom) / fig. planning strategies | syn | |
| 忍辱负重忍辱負重 | to endure humiliation as part of an important mission (idiom) / to suffer in silence | ||
| 如鱼得水如魚得水 | like a fish back in water (idiom) / glad to be back in one's proper surroundings | syn | |
| 千载难逢千載難逢 | extremely rare (idiom) / once in a blue moon | syn | |
| 郁郁葱葱鬱鬱蔥蔥 | verdant and lush (idiom) | syn | |
| 数不胜数數不勝數 | (idiom) too many to count / innumerable | syn | |
| 心烦意乱心煩意亂 | lit. heart distracted, thoughts in turmoil (idiom) / distraught with anxiety | syn | |
| 四通八达四通八達 | roads open in all directions (idiom) / accessible from all sides | syn | |
| 不闻不问不聞不問 | not to hear, not to question (idiom) / to show no interest in sth / uncritical / not in the least concerned | syn | |
| 一尘不染一塵不染 | untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom) / selfless and incorruptible / spotless | syn | |
| 求之不得 | lit. seek but fail to get (idiom) / fig. exactly what one’s been looking for | syn | |
| 尽善尽美盡善盡美 | perfect (idiom) / perfection / the best of all possible worlds / as good as it gets | syn | |
| 如影随形如影隨形 | lit. as the shadow follows the body (idiom) / fig. closely associated with each other / inseparable / to follow relentlessly | syn | |
| 瞬息万变瞬息萬變 | in an instant a myriad changes (idiom) / rapid substantial change | syn | |
| 家家户户家家戶戶 | each and every family (idiom) / every household | ||
| 危言耸听危言聳聽 | frightening words to scare people (idiom) / alarmist talk / reds under the beds | syn | |
| 心领神会心領神會 | to understand tacitly (idiom) / to know intuitively / to understand thoroughly | syn | |
| 真相大白 | the whole truth is revealed (idiom) / everything becomes clear | syn | |
| 车水马龙車水馬龍 | endless stream of horse and carriages (idiom) / heavy traffic | syn | |
| 举一反三舉一反三 | to raise one and infer three / to deduce many things from one case (idiom) | syn | |
| 不可理喻 | (idiom) impervious to reason / unreasonable | syn | |
| 一枝独秀一枝獨秀 | lit. only one branch of the tree is thriving (idiom) / fig. to be in a league of one's own / outstanding | syn | |
| 无中生有無中生有 | to create something from nothing (idiom) | syn | |
| 深信不疑 | to believe firmly without any doubt (idiom) / absolute certainty about sth | syn | |
| 孜孜不倦 | lit. diligent and never slacking (idiom) / continuous concentrated effort / assiduous (in study) / to concentrate | syn | |
| 蹑手蹑脚躡手躡腳 | to walk quietly on tiptoe (idiom) | syn | |
| 改头换面改頭換面 | to change outwardly while remaining essentially the same (derog.) (idiom) / (Tw) (non-derogatory) to change considerably / to undergo a transformation | syn | |
| 自力更生 | regeneration through one's own effort (idiom) / self-reliance | syn | |
| 倾家荡产傾家蕩產 | to lose a family fortune (idiom) | syn | |
| 深恶痛绝深惡痛絕 | to detest bitterly (idiom) / implacable hatred / to abhor / anathema | syn | |
| 所向披靡 | (idiom) to sweep everything before one / to be invincible | syn | |
| 面不改色 | (idiom) not bat an eyelid | syn | |
| 荣华富贵榮華富貴 | glory, splendor, wealth and rank (idiom) / high position and great wealth | syn | |
| 温文尔雅溫文爾雅 | cultured and refined (idiom) / gentle and cultivated | syn | |
| 柳暗花明 | lit. the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light (idiom) / at one's darkest hour, a glimmer of hope / light at the end of the tunnel | ||
| 冠冕堂皇 | high-sounding / dignified / pompous (idiom) | syn | |
| 井井有条井井有條 | everything clear and orderly (idiom) / neat and tidy | syn | |
| 凶多吉少兇多吉少 | lit. everything bodes ill, no positive signs (idiom) / fig. inauspicious / everything points to disaster | syn | |
| 有惊无险有驚無險 | to be more scared than hurt (idiom) / to get through a daunting experience without mishap | syn | |
| 崭露头角嶄露頭角 | to reveal outstanding talent (idiom) / to stand out as conspicuously brilliant | ||
| 直言不讳直言不諱 | to speak bluntly (idiom) / not to mince words | syn | |
| 无可救药無可救藥 | lit. no antidote is possible (idiom) / incurable / incorrigible / beyond redemption | ||
| 周而复始週而復始 | lit. the cycle comes back to the start (idiom) / to move in circles / the wheel comes full circle | syn | |
| 出生入死 | from the cradle to the grave (idiom) / to go through fire and water / brave / willing to risk life and limb | syn | |
| 夕阳西下夕陽西下 | the sun sets in the west (idiom) | syn | |
| 花言巧语花言巧語 | graceful words, flowery speech (idiom) / elegant but insincere words / cheating wheedling / dishonest rhetoric | syn | |
| 怒不可遏 | unable to restrain one's anger (idiom) / in a towering rage | syn | |
| 拳打脚踢拳打腳踢 | lit. to punch and kick (idiom) / to beat up / fig. determined to sort out a problem | syn | |
| 雨后春笋雨後春筍 | lit. after rain, the spring bamboo (idiom) / fig. rapid new growth / many new things emerge in rapid succession | syn | |
| 四分五裂 | all split up and in pieces (idiom) / disunity (in an organization) / complete lack of unity / to disintegrate / falling apart / to be at sixes and sevens | syn | |
| 水涨船高水漲船高 | the tide rises, the boat floats (idiom) / fig. to change with the overall trend / to develop according to the situation | syn | |
| 变本加厉變本加厲 | lit. change to more severe (idiom) / to become more intense (esp. of shortcoming) / to aggravate / to intensify | syn | |
| 精神抖擞精神抖擻 | spirit trembling with excitement (idiom) / in high spirits / lively and full of enthusiasm / full of energy / con brio | syn | |
| 战无不胜戰無不勝 | (idiom) all-conquering / invincible | syn | |
| 立竿见影立竿見影 | lit. set up a pole and immediately see its shadow (idiom) / fig. to get instant results | syn | |
| 纵横交错縱橫交錯 | criss-crossed (idiom) | syn | |
| 杂乱无章雜亂無章 | disordered and in a mess (idiom) / all mixed up and chaotic | syn | |
| 千真万确千真萬確 | absolutely true (idiom) / manifold / true from many points of view | syn | |
| 鸟语花香鳥語花香 | lit. birdsong and fragrant flowers (idiom) / fig. the intoxication of a beautiful spring day | ||
| 顶天立地頂天立地 | lit. able to support both heaven and earth / of indomitable spirit (idiom) | syn | |
| 凶神恶煞兇神惡煞 | fiends (idiom) / devils and monsters | syn | |
| 埋头苦干埋頭苦幹 | to bury oneself in work (idiom) / to be engrossed in work / to make an all-out effort / up to the neck in work | syn | |
| 肃然起敬肅然起敬 | to feel deep veneration for sb (idiom) | syn | |
| 朝气蓬勃朝氣蓬勃 | full of youthful energy (idiom) / vigorous / energetic / a bright spark | syn | |
| 恰如其分 | (idiom) appropriate / apt / just right | syn | |
| 神通广大神通廣大 | (idiom) to possess great magical power / to possess remarkable abilities | syn | |
| 分道扬镳分道揚鑣 | lit. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom) / fig. to part ways | syn | |
| 天旋地转天旋地轉 | the sky spins, the earth goes round (idiom) / giddy with one's head spinning / fig. huge changes in the world | syn | |
| 半途而废半途而廢 | to give up halfway (idiom) / leave sth unfinished | syn | |
| 锲而不舍鍥而不捨 | to chip away at a task and not abandon it (idiom) / to chisel away at sth / to persevere / unflagging efforts | syn | |
| 一意孤行 | obstinately clinging to one's course (idiom) / willful / one's own way / dogmatic | syn | |
| 若即若离若即若離 | lit. seeming neither close nor distant (idiom) / fig. to keep one's distance / (of a relationship) lukewarm / vague | syn | |
| 冷嘲热讽冷嘲熱諷 | frigid irony and scorching satire (idiom) / to mock and ridicule | syn | |
| 目不暇接 | lit. too much for the eye to take in (idiom) / a feast for the eyes | syn | |
| 风云变幻風雲變幻 | changeable situation (idiom) | syn | |
| 易如反掌 | easy as a hand's turn (idiom) / very easy / no effort at all | syn | |
| 横冲直撞橫衝直撞 | lit. bashing sideways and colliding straight on (idiom) / to push through shoving and bumping / to barge / to charge around violently | syn | |
| 彻头彻尾徹頭徹尾 | lit. from head to tail (idiom) / thoroughgoing / through and through / out and out / from top to bottom | syn | |
| 欣欣向荣欣欣向榮 | (idiom) flourishing / thriving | syn | |
| 忍气吞声忍氣吞聲 | to submit to humiliation (idiom) / to suffer in silence / to swallow one's anger / to grin and bear it | syn | |
| 专心致志專心致志 | (idiom) single-minded / fully focused | syn | |
| 双管齐下雙管齊下 | lit. to paint holding two brushes (idiom) / fig. to work on two tasks at the same time / to attack one problem from two angles at the same time | syn | |
| 错落有致錯落有致 | in picturesque disorder (idiom) / irregular arrangement with charming effect | syn | |
| 岌岌可危 | imminent danger (idiom) / approaching a crisis | syn | |
| 遥遥无期遙遙無期 | far in the indefinite future (idiom) / so far away it seems forever | syn | |
| 一败涂地一敗塗地 | lit. defeated, the ground blanketed with bodies (idiom) / fig. to suffer a crushing defeat | syn | |
| 量力而行 | to assess one's capabilities and act accordingly (idiom) / to act within one's competence / One does what one can. | ||
| 望尘莫及望塵莫及 | lit. to see only the other rider's dust and have no hope of catching up (idiom) / to be far inferior | syn | |
| 死灰复燃死灰復燃 | lit. ashes burn once more (idiom) / fig. sb lost returns to have influence / sth malevolent returns to haunt one | syn | |
| 腰缠万贯腰纏萬貫 | lit. ten thousand strings of cash in money belt (idiom) / carrying lots of money / extremely wealthy / loaded | syn | |
| 一反常态一反常態 | complete change from the normal state (idiom) / quite uncharacteristic / entirely outside the norm / out of character | syn | |
| 井然有序 | everything clear and in good order (idiom) / neat and tidy | syn |
The four tones
What a chengyu actually is
A chengyu is almost always four characters long, and it is not a proverb. It is a compressed classical phrase that Chinese still uses in ordinary speech and writing: the characters keep an old order and an old meaning, and unpacking them word by word will not give you the sense. That is why a dictionary of chengyu is a separate tool from the main dictionary, which treats them as ordinary entries.
The list here is not an index of every idiom in the language. It is the most frequent four-character idioms that the English column of the dictionary marks as such, ranked by how often they appear. The ones a learner meets in news, fiction and conversation sit at the top; rarer literary forms sit further down, or not on this page at all.
Each line links through to its dictionary entry, where you will find the full definition and, when the corpus has one, an example sentence. The search tool on the other side of this page is for looking up an idiom you already have in front of you; this list is for discovering which ones are worth knowing first.