Chinese Chengyu Dictionary

A dictionary of chengyu, the four-character Chinese idioms. Search by expression, character or pinyin.

Browse common chengyu

Chengyu of the day

奄奄一息
yǎn yǎn yī xī
Def. : Dying; at one's last gasp
Chengyu Pinyin Translation
哀哀父母 āi āi fù mǔ Translation not yet available
哀哀欲绝 āi āi yù jué Translation not yet available
哀兵必胜 āi bīng bì shèng an army burning with righteous indignation is bound to win (idiom)
哀而不伤 āi ér bù shāng deeply felt but not mawkish (idiom)
哀感天地 āi gǎn tiān dì Translation not yet available
哀感顽艳 āi gǎn wán yàn Translation not yet available
哀感中年 āi gǎn zhōng nián Translation not yet available
哀告宾服 āi gào bīn fú Translation not yet available
哀鸿遍野 āi hóng biàn yě lit. plaintive whine of geese (idiom); fig. land swarming with disaster victims; starving people fill the land
哀毁骨立 āi huǐ gǔ lì Translation not yet available
哀梨蒸食 āi lí zhēng shí Translation not yet available
哀莫大于心死 āi mò dà yú xīn sǐ Translation not yet available
哀丝豪竹 āi sī háo zhú Translation not yet available
哀思如潮 āi sī rú cháo Translation not yet available
哀天叫地 āi tiān jiào dì Translation not yet available
哀痛欲绝 āi tòng yù jué Translation not yet available
唉声叹气 āi shēng tàn qì sighing voice, wailing breath (idiom); to heave deep sighs; to sigh in despair
挨风缉缝 āi fēng jī fèng Translation not yet available
挨家挨户 āi jiā āi hù to go from house to house
挨肩并足 āi jiān bìng zú Translation not yet available
挨肩擦膀 āi jiān cā bǎng Translation not yet available
挨肩擦背 āi jiān cā bèi Translation not yet available
挨肩擦脸 āi jiān cā liǎn Translation not yet available
挨肩搭背 āi jiān dā bèi Translation not yet available
挨门逐户 āi mén zhú hù Translation not yet available
挨三顶五 āi sān dǐng wǔ Translation not yet available
挨山塞海 āi shān sè hǎi Translation not yet available
蔼然可亲 ǎi rán kě qīn Translation not yet available
蔼然仁者 ǎi rán rén zhě Translation not yet available
矮人看场 ǎi rén kàn chǎng Translation not yet available
矮子看戏 ǎi zǐ kàn xì Translation not yet available
碍口识羞 ài kǒu shí xiū tongue-tied for fear of embarrassment (idiom)
碍手碍脚 ài shǒu ài jiǎo to be in the way; to be a hindrance
爱别离苦 ài bié lí kǔ Translation not yet available
爱博而情不专 ài bó ér qíng bù zhuān Translation not yet available
爱不忍释 ài bù rěn shì to love sth too much to part with it (idiom)
爱不释手 ài bù shì shǒu (idiom) to like sth so much that one is reluctant to put it down; to find sth utterly irresistible
爱才如渴 ài cái rú kě Translation not yet available
爱才若渴 ài cái ruò kě Translation not yet available
爱财如命 ài cái rú mìng lit. to love money as much as one's own life (idiom); fig. avaricious; tightfisted
How to search:
Search by Chinese expression, character or pinyin.
A browseable list:
The most frequent idioms are also on a separate dictionary page.

12,999 chengyu listed.

What a chengyu is, and what it is not

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 looking one up is a different job from looking up a word.

This tool searches the table of idioms by expression, character or pinyin. If you already have the four characters in front of you, that is the way in. If you do not, and you want to see which idioms are common enough to be worth knowing first, the browseable list is the other half of the same subject.

Other tools

All tools

Share this page