Chinese Chengyu Dictionary
A dictionary of chengyu, the four-character Chinese idioms. Search by expression, character or pinyin.
| Chengyu | Pinyin | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 鞍前马后 | ān qián mǎ hòu | to follow everywhere; to always be there for sb at their beck and call |
| 案牍劳形 | àn dú láo xíng | Translation not yet available |
| 按兵不动 | àn bīng bù dòng | to hold back one's troops without moving (idiom); to bide one's time |
| 按部就班 | àn bù jiù bān | to follow the prescribed order; to keep to the working routine (idiom) |
| 按甲寝兵 | àn jiǎ qǐn bīng | Translation not yet available |
| 按甲休兵 | àn jiǎ xiū bīng | Translation not yet available |
| 按名责实 | àn míng zé shí | Translation not yet available |
| 按捺不住 | àn nà bù zhù | to be unable to hold back |
| 按辔徐行 | àn pèi xú xíng | Translation not yet available |
| 按图索骥 | àn tú suǒ jì | lit. looking for a fine horse using only a picture (idiom); fig. to do things along rigid, conventional lines; to try and find sth with the help of a clue |
| 按行自抑 | àn xíng zì yì | Translation not yet available |
| 黯然伤神 | àn rán shāng shén | Translation not yet available |
| 黯然失色 | àn rán shī sè | to lose one's splendor; to lose luster; to be eclipsed; to be overshadowed |
| 黯然销魂 | àn rán xiāo hún | overwhelming sadness (idiom); sorrow at parting |
| 暗淡无光 | àn dàn wú guāng | Translation not yet available |
| 暗渡陈仓 | àn dù chén cāng | lit. secretly crossing the Wei River 渭河[Wei4 He2] at Chencang (idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] in 206 BC against Xiang Yu 項羽|项羽[Xiang4 Yu3] of Chu); fig. to feign one thing while doing another; to cheat under cover of a diversion |
| 暗箭难防 | àn jiàn nán fáng | Translation not yet available |
| 暗箭伤人 | àn jiàn shāng rén | Translation not yet available |
| 暗昧之事 | àn mèi zhī shì | Translation not yet available |
| 暗气暗恼 | àn qì àn nǎo | Translation not yet available |
| 暗弱无断 | àn ruò wú duàn | Translation not yet available |
| 暗室不欺 | àn shì bù qī | Translation not yet available |
| 暗室逢灯 | àn shì féng dēng | Translation not yet available |
| 暗室亏心 | àn shì kuī xīn | Translation not yet available |
| 暗室欺心 | àn shì qī xīn | Translation not yet available |
| 暗室求物 | àn shì qiú wù | Translation not yet available |
| 暗送秋波 | àn sòng qiū bō | to cast flirtatious glances at sb (idiom) |
| 暗无天日 | àn wú tiān rì | all black, no daylight (idiom); a world without justice |
| 暗香疏影 | àn xiāng shū yǐng | (poetic depiction of plum blossom) |
| 暗中摸索 | àn zhōng mō suǒ | Translation not yet available |
| 昂藏七尺 | áng cáng qī chǐ | Translation not yet available |
| 昂然自得 | áng rán zì dé | Translation not yet available |
| 昂首阔步 | áng shǒu kuò bù | striding forward with head high (idiom); to walk with spirited and vigorous step; to strut |
| 昂首伸眉 | áng shǒu shēn méi | Translation not yet available |
| 昂首天外 | áng shǒu tiān wài | Translation not yet available |
| 昂首挺胸 | áng shǒu tǐng xiōng | Translation not yet available |
| 昂首望天 | áng shǒu wàng tiān | Translation not yet available |
| 盎盂相击 | àng yú xiāng jī | Translation not yet available |
| 盎盂相敲 | àng yú xiāng qiāo | Translation not yet available |
| 嗷嗷待哺 | áo áo dài bǔ | cry piteously for food |
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.