Fathoming the Wisdom of Chinese Idioms
There are a lot of different expressions, proverbs and sayings in China. The Yunpei Sun Dictionary of Idioms, which was published in 2000, includes about 14 thousand entries. If you like the cultural nuances and rhythmic poetry of the Chinese language, here is a good opportunity to enjoy some great examples!
The Chinese idiom Chéngyǔ (成语, pinyin: chéngyǔ, literally meaning «ready expression») is an idiomatic expression, most often consisting of four hieroglyphs. It denotes a concept, the meaning of which is different from the meanings of each of the individual words it consists of.
1.
卧虎藏龙 (臥虎藏龍)
(Wò hǔ cáng lóng)
Crouching tiger, hidden dragon
No, this is not the name of a kung fu fighting style, as one might think. This phrase implies a person with hidden capabilities and unexplored potential. Perhaps, our saying «Still waters run deep» is the closest equivalent.
This idiomatic expression is familiar to many from the title of Ang Lee’s film, which came out in 2000. It became the highest-grossing non-English-language movie in the history of American distribution.
2.
一石二鸟 (一石二鳥)
(Yī shí èr niǎo)
To kill two birds with one stone
As you can see, in this case, both English and Chinese languages have expressions that imply the same meaning and use the same imagery.
3.
虎头蛇尾 (虎頭蛇尾)
(Hǔ tóu shé wěi)
Tiger’s head, snake’s tail
In Chinese idioms involving animals, some beasts tend to represent positive qualities (for example, a tiger; a horse; a dragon). Others, such as a pig or a snake, are usually associated with negative ones. This contrast is fully demonstrated in this case, with «the head of a tiger, the tail of a snake» implying a strong beginning, but a weak finish.
4.
骑虎难下 (騎虎難下)
(Qí hǔ nán xià)
If you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off
This saying implies being in a dangerous, hopeless situation. The expression appeared in the times of the Jin dynasty, when General Su Jun, commander of a rebel army, seized the emperor’s throne.
Governor Wen Jiao was very loyal to the emperor, he formed an alliance to fight against the rebel forces of Su Jun.
But one of the generals named Tao hesitated to join this alliance. Then Wen Jiao told him: «It’s like sitting astride a tiger’s back — you can’t get off it. The only way is to kill the tiger.»
General Tao joined the alliance, and, as a result, the rebel army was defeated.
5.
画龙点睛 (畫龍點睛)
(Huà lóng diǎn jīng)
To paint a dragon and dot in the eyes
This idiom means adding final, decisive touches to something; providing a strong, definitive argument.
The expression has a fascinating origin story:
There lived a famous artist named Zhang Zengyao. One day he was asked to paint the walls of a monastery. He proceeded to paint four dragons, who looked positively alive. «But why didn’t you draw the pupils in the dragons’ eyes?» people asked him. To which the master replied: «If I draw the pupils, the dragons will fly away.»
Of course, everyone took his words as a joke, and the monks insisted that he add the finishing touches. As soon as the artist drew the pupils of the first two dragons, the creatures suddenly came to life and soared into the sky. The other two (pupil-less) dragons remained as paintings on the wall.
6.
画蛇添足 (畫蛇添足)
(Huà shé tiān zú)
To draw legs on a snake
It means to overdo things, to do something superfluous, unnecessary; to spoil the effort with ones diligence. English-language analogue would be: «Give a fool enough rope and he’ll hang himself.»
Here’s how the expression came about:
At a celebration, the host offered the guests a jug of wine, but there was not enough for everyone. So, one of the guests suggested: «Let each of us draw a snake on the ground. Whoever does this fastest will get the jug.» The others agreed and everyone started drawing. One person finished his work faster than the others and said: «Hah, while you are still at it, I will draw legs on my snake!». But, while he was busy with the legs, another guest finished drawing. He took the jug, drank the wine and addressed the over-diligent artist: «Why do you bother? Snakes don’t even have legs!»
7.
对牛弹琴 (對牛彈琴)
(Duì niú tán qín)
To play the lute to a cow
This is the Chinese analogue of the well-known phrase from the Bible, «To cast pearls before swine». Meaning, it is not worth wasting time trying to explain something to those who are not able to understand and appreciate it.
8.
讲同鸭讲 (雞同鴨講)
(jī tóng yā jiǎng)
Like a chicken talking to a duck
This idiom implies speaking different languages; having different goals/values, not understanding each other.
9.
狐假虎威
(Hú jiǎ hǔ wēi)
The fox borrows the tiger’s might
Literally, this reads 狐 (fox) 假 (to pretend) 虎 (tiger) 威 (strength). This expression applies to someone who uses the power of influential people to intimidate or put pressure on others.
The origin of the idiom is as follows:
Once, the mighty tiger — ruler of the beasts, king of the forest — caught the fox and wanted to eat it.
But the cunning fox had other plans for the day, and it said to the tiger menacingly: «You can’t eat me! The Emperor of Heaven has sent me to rule this forest! You don’t want to anger the Emperor of Heaven, do you?»
The tiger didn’t believe the fox: «What nonsensе! Do you really think I’ll fall for it?»
«Then why don’t you come with me to the forest and see how the other animals will react to my appearance?» said the fox.
With great suspicion and doubt, the tiger followed the fox into the forest. Whenever the two approached other animals, they ran away in fear (yet not because of the fox, but for the presence of ferocious tiger behind it). The fox simply made it appear as if the animals were afraid of it, not the tiger. Nevertheless, seeing the fleeing beasts, the tiger believed the fox and let it go.
10.
井底之蛙
(jǐng dǐ zhī wā)
The frog at the bottom of the well
An expression that is used to describe someone who is short-sighted and has a narrow view of the world. This chéngyǔ encourages us not to limit our understanding of life, to broaden our horizons as much as possible. A similar expression exists in English: «To not see beyond ones nose».
The origin:
A frog lived at the bottom of a well. All she could see of the wider world was a small piece of the sky. All that surrounded her were the walls of the well and the water at the bottom. One day a sea turtle appeared at the brink of the well and looked down. When the frog saw the visitor, she proudly boasted to the turtle: «This is my well, and I am so happy here. I can jump, sleep, walk around or play in the water.»
The sea turtle said to the frog: «Have you ever seen the sea? It is beautiful and has no boundaries. Life at sea is a real happiness!»
Then the turtle left to return to the sea, leaving the frog speechless at the bottom of the well.
11.
塞翁失马
(sài wēng shī mǎ)
Sài Wēng loses his horse
This is one of the most popular sayings in China and it literally means «old man Sai (塞 翁) loses his horse (失 马)». The meaning of the idiom — «hidden blessing», becomes clear when we get acquainted with the story of Sai Weng.
Once upon a time, there lived an old man named Sai, who kept a lot of horses in his stable. Оne day, one of his best horses ran away. The neighbors tried to comfort him, but instead of getting upset, Sai said: «Who knows? Maybe it’s a hidden blessing!»
In a couple of days, the runaway horse returned to the stable along with another beautiful horse. Sai’s son got on the new horse, but fell off it, breaking his leg. The neighbors began to comfort Sai, to which he once again said: «Who knows? Maybe it’s a hidden blessing!»
A few days later, war suddenly broke out, and most of the men in the village were drafted into the army. Many of them died in the war, but Sai’s son could not serve in the army due to his broken leg and so was saved from certain death.
12.
杯弓蛇影
(bēi gōng shé yǐng)
To see a bow reflected in a cup as a snake
The meaning of this idiom is «to be overly distrustful and suspicious».
The story:
One day a subordinate came to visit a military commander. Taking a cup of wine, he saw a snake inside, but, not daring to break the rules of hospitality, he closed his eyes and drank the wine. Upon coming home, he became seriously ill. When the commander found out about the subordinate’s illness, and about the snake, he was very confused, thinking that such a thing was impossible.
Lost in thought, he sat down in the place where the subordinate was sitting the night before, poured himself some wine and also saw a snake inside the cup. But, as it turned out, this was just a reflection of a bow hanging on the wall. The commander explained everything to his subordinate and he quickly recovered.
13.
虎头虎脑
(hǔ tóu hǔ nǎo)
Tiger’s head and tiger’s brain
In colloquial speech, this is usually said of someone (most likely, a boy) who looks strong, straightforward and honest.
14.
虎背熊腰
(hǔ bèi xióng yāo)
Back of a tiger and waist of a bear
An informal way to describe a big and strong man. A burly, tough, action hero-type appearance.
15.
虎口余生
(hǔ kǒu yú shēng)
To escape from the tiger’s mouth
This saying is being used when a person manages to avoid some kind of deadly danger.
16.
狼吞虎咽
(láng tūn hǔ yàn)
To eat like wolves and tigers
An idiom describing a situation when someone eats quickly and greedily. In English, we usually say: «to wolf down»; «to be hungry as a wolf».
17.
九牛一毛
(jiǔ niú yī máo)
One hair from nine oxen
This has the same meaning as «a drop in the ocean». A negligiblу small percentage.
18.
鸡飞蛋打
(jī fēi dàn dǎ)
The chicken has flown the coop and the eggs are broken
That is, to be left with nothing, with no hope of gaining something from ones (usually misguided) efforts.
19.
鸡犬不宁
(jī quǎn bù níng)
Not even the chickens and dogs are left undisturbed
This denotes a great commotion, a situation where there’s not a minute of peace and quiet for anyone.
20.
鸡毛蒜皮
(jī máo suàn pí)
Chicken feathers and garlic skin
An idiom meaning something insignificant, trifling matters.
21.
鸡蛋 里 挑 骨头
(jī dàn lǐ tiāo gǔ tóu)
To look for a bone in an egg
This saying applies to those who try to find a flaw where there is none; a way to describe someone being nitpicky.
22.
吹牛皮
(chuī niú pí)
To blow a bull’s skin
To brag, to talk big, to show off. By the way, this expression consists of only three hieroglyphs.
23.
象牙 嘴里 吐 不出 象牙 (狗 嘴裡 吐 不出 象牙)
(Gǒu zuǐ lǐ tǔ bu chū xiàngyá)
No ivory comes from the mouth of a dog
Meaning: Don’t expect kind words from a bad person.
As you may have noticed, this is the only one among the idioms on this page that consists of more than four hieroglyphs.