Chinese Chengyu Dictionary
A dictionary of chengyu, the four-character Chinese idioms. Search by expression, character or pinyin.
| Chengyu | Pinyin | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 爱国如家 | ài guó rú jiā | to love one's country as one's own family (praise for a virtuous ruler) |
| 爱鹤失众 | ài hè shī zhòng | Translation not yet available |
| 爱礼存羊 | ài lǐ cún yáng | Translation not yet available |
| 爱毛反裘 | ài máo fǎn qiú | Translation not yet available |
| 爱民如子 | ài mín rú zǐ | (idiom) to love the common people as one's own children (praise for a virtuous ruler) |
| 爱莫能助 | ài mò néng zhù | unable to help however much one would like to (idiom); Although we sympathize, there is no way to help you.; My hands are tied. |
| 爱钱如命 | ài qián rú mìng | Translation not yet available |
| 爱人好士 | ài rén hào shì | Translation not yet available |
| 爱人利物 | ài rén lì wù | Translation not yet available |
| 爱人以德 | ài rén yǐ dé | Translation not yet available |
| 爱日惜力 | ài rì xī lì | Translation not yet available |
| 爱如己出 | ài rú jǐ chū | Translation not yet available |
| 爱如珍宝 | ài rú zhēn bǎo | Translation not yet available |
| 爱素好古 | ài sù hào gǔ | Translation not yet available |
| 爱屋及乌 | ài wū jí wū | lit. love the house and its crow (idiom); involvement with sb and everyone connected; Love me, love my dog. |
| 爱惜羽毛 | ài xī yǔ máo | Translation not yet available |
| 爱憎分明 | ài zēng fēn míng | to make a clear difference between what one likes and what one hates; to have well-defined likes and dislikes |
| 爱之欲其生，恶之欲其死 | ài zhī yù qí shēng wù zhī yù qí sǐ | Translation not yet available |
| 暧昧不明 | ài mèi bù míng | Translation not yet available |
| 暧昧之情 | ài mèi zhī qíng | Translation not yet available |
| 安安稳稳 | ān ān wěn wěn | Translation not yet available |
| 安邦定国 | ān bāng dìng guó | to bring peace and stability to the country |
| 安邦治国 | ān bāng zhì guó | Translation not yet available |
| 安不忘危 | ān bù wàng wēi | Translation not yet available |
| 安步当车 | ān bù dàng chē | to go on foot (idiom); to do things at a leisurely pace |
| 安常处顺 | ān cháng chǔ shùn | Translation not yet available |
| 安常守分 | ān cháng shǒu fèn | Translation not yet available |
| 安常守故 | ān cháng shǒu gù | Translation not yet available |
| 安车蒲轮 | ān chē pú lún | Translation not yet available |
| 安堵乐业 | ān dǔ lè yè | Translation not yet available |
| 安堵如故 | ān dǔ rú gù | Translation not yet available |
| 安分守己 | ān fèn shǒu jǐ | to be content with one's lot (idiom); to know one's place |
| 安分知足 | ān fèn zhī zú | Translation not yet available |
| 安富恤贫 | ān fù xù pín | to give sympathy to the rich and relief to the poor (idiom) |
| 安富尊荣 | ān fù zūn róng | well-off and respected (idiom); to be content with one's wealth and position |
| 安国宁家 | ān guó níng jiā | Translation not yet available |
| 安魂定魄 | ān hún dìng pò | Translation not yet available |
| 安家立业 | ān jiā lì yè | stable household, established profession (idiom); settled and comfortably off |
| 安家落户 | ān jiā luò hù | to make one's home in a place; to settle |
| 安居乐业 | ān jū lè yè | to live in peace and work happily (idiom) |
Search by Chinese expression, character or pinyin.
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.