15 Common And Useful Chinese Idioms (Chengyu) ✨

15 Common and Useful Chinese Idioms (Chengyu) ✨

🌷 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì) 脚踏实地 literally means “to step on solid ground.” It means that you work hard, focus on the fundamentals, and proceed in a steady and stable fashion. It’s an extremely positive chengyu. Here’s an example : “现在我们要继续脚踏实地” “xiànzài wǒmen yào jìxù jiǎotàshídì” “Right now we need to continue staying grounded and pushing ahead”

🌷 九牛一毛 (jiǔ niú yì máo) 九牛一毛 literally means “9 cows and 1 strand of cow hair.” It indicates something that’s so small that it’s like one strand of cow hair among 9 cows. Here’s an example: “电子商务的盈利在中国整体商业环境中简直是九牛一毛.” “diànzǐ shāngwù de yínglì zài zhōngguó zhěngtǐ shāngyè huánjìng zhōng jiǎnzhí shì jiǔniúyìmáo.” “In the entire Chinese commercial environment, the profits from E-commerce are simply just a drop in the bucket.”

🌷 一无所有 (yìwúsuǒyǒu) 一无所有 means to have absolutely nothing at all. It’s basically being penniless. Here’s an example: “他无家可归，一无所有” “tā wújiākěguī， yìwúsuǒyǒu” “He was homeless, and didn’t have a penny to his name.”

🌷 一见钟情(yí jiàn zhōng qíng) 一见钟情 means “love at first sight.” It’s generally used for people, but you can also use it for other physical objects. Here’s an example: “她就是我的一见钟情 “ “tā jiùshì wǒ de yíjiànzhōngqíng“ “She is my love at first sight.”

🌷 自由自在 (zì yóu zì zài) 自由自在 means that something is free and easy. It can be used to describe someone’s personality, how someone behaves, or how a place makes people feel. For example: “这是一个自由自在的地方。” “zhè shì yī gè zì yóu zì zai de dì fāng” “This is a free and easy place”

🌷 莫名其妙 (mò míng qí miào) 莫名其妙 literally means that it’s hard to articulate the profoundness or mystery or something. It basically means that something is baffling. For example: “他说了几句莫名其妙的话。” “tā shuì le jī gōu mò míng qí miào de huà” “He said some mysterious words. ”

🌷 半途而废 (bàn tú ér fèi) 半途而废 means to start doing something, only to give up halfway. Literally, it means to walk half the road and give up. Here’s an example: “我不是半途而废的人” “wǒ búshì bàntúérfèi de rén” “I’m not someone who gives up halfway”

🌷 抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù) 抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù) basically means you’re “just tossing an idea out there.” It literally means “to cast a brick to attract jade.” You’re basically saying, “this idea I’m tossing out there is garbage, but perhaps it will lead one of you to make a better contribution.” It’s a humble way to contribute to a conversation. Here’s an example: “我的建议还不够成熟，算是抛砖引玉吧 “ “wǒ de jiàn yì hái bú gòu chéng shú, suàn shì pāo zhuān yǐn yù ba “ “My suggestion is still half-baked — you could see it as just me tossing an idea out there“

🌷 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng) 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng) has two meanings which are linked. The first meaning is the refreshing and liberating feeling you get when you see a beautiful, open area. Typically, immediately before this moment, the beautiful area is not visible and you might be feeling a little stuffy. Second, it’s also used for the feeling you get when you achieve an “aha” or “eureka!” moment. Here’s an example: “大学时期，乔尼开始有机会用Mac做设计，那是一种豁然开朗的体验“ “dàxué shíqí, qiáoní kāishǐ yǒujīhuì yòng Mac zuò shèjì, nàshì yīzhǒng huòránkāilǎng de tǐyàn” “During college, Jony began to have opportunities to use a Mac to design, and that was a refreshing, eye-opening experience”

🌷 津津有味 (jīn jīn yǒu wèi) 津津有味 means to eat something deliciously. Also, it can be used for activities beyond just eating, as long as the person doing the activity finds it engaging. It’s not something that people typically use to describe themselves, but you can liberally use it on your friends as it has a positive tone. Here’s an expressive example: “津津有味地看报” “jīnjīnyǒuwèi de kànbào” “to devour the newspaper”

🌷 理所当然 (lǐ suǒ dāng rán) 理所当然 sounds like “to go without saying” or “as a matter of course,” but literally means that “according to reason, it should be the case.” Here’s an example: “Some things which are obvious or natural in the course of a marriage…” “。。。在婚姻中的一些～的事。。。” “。。。zài hūnyīn zhōng de yīxiē ～de shì 。。。”

🌷 全力以赴 (quán lì yǐ fù) 全力以赴 basically means to give it your all (literally “exert all your strength”) for a goal. It has a positive tone, and is somewhat formal but can still be used in everyday speech. It’s important to note that 全力以赴 is typically used for actions that haven’t finished yet, rather than actions that have already been completed. Here’s an example: “无论考生的笔试成绩如何，都要全力以赴准备面试” “wúlùn kǎoshēng de bǐshì chéngjì rúhé ，dōuyào quánlìyǐfù zhǔnbèi miànshì” “No matter how the student’s written test score is, he/she needs to give 100% to prepare for the interview”

🌷 心血来潮 (xīn xuè lái cháo) 心血来潮 basically means “spur of the moment” or “on a whim.” Literally, it evokes the image of blood rushing to your heart (of course in English we’d say head). It’s a perfect chengyu for when you’re telling a story a friend. For example: “某日他们心血来潮，决定比拼一下各自的脚法“ “mǒu rì tāmen xīnxuèláicháo,juédìng bǐpīn yíxià gèzì de jiǎofǎ” “One day, on a spur of the moment, they decided to compare and compete to see whose footwork was best”

🌷 乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo) 乱七八糟 means that something is a total mess. You can use it to describe tangible things like messy rooms, or more abstract things, like a messed up life. For example: 是谁弄得乱七八糟的？ “shì shéi nòng de luàn qī bā zāo de?” “who made this mess?”

🌷 不可思议 (bù kě sī yì) 不可思议 means that something is noteworthy or amazing in an unexpected way. It can be used for things which are really amazing (eg. magic or larger phenomena) but also for unexpected, everyday occurrences. For example: “真是不可思议，我的名字跟你一样！” “zhēn shi bù kĕ sī yì wŏ de míng zi gēn nĭ yī yàng” “It’s incredible, I have the same name as you!”

The Hogwarts Houses as Langblrs

Gryffindor:

- Has an obsession with romance languages - Backpacks (or wants to backpack) around the world - Does a lot of 100 days challenges - Loves talking to natives - Uses tons of different study materials - Reads out loud in their target languages - Highlights everything in their textbooks - Goes on Duolingo every day to keep their sreak - Spends way too much time planning their next trips - Listens to podcasts in their target languages while working out - Is better at their target languages when they’re drunk - Fights anyone who says that you can become fluent in three months - Visits (or wants to visit) all their friends abroad - Whises to visit every country in the world - Loves roadtrips, hiking and sleeping in tents - Tries local alcohols everywhere they go

Languages: Spanish, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Arabic

Hufflepuff:

- Gives language classes to refugees in their city - Volunteers abroad - Spends more time daydreaming than actually studying - Watches a lot of TV shows in their target languages - Studies their soulmate’s native language - Listens to music in languages they don’t know - Loves translating lyrics from their favorite songs - Cooks food from foreign countries - Give nicknames in different languages to their friends - Shares all their travels on social media - Talks to their pet in their target languages - Posts pretty pictures of their study space - Laughs at dumb duolingo sentences - Always writes postcards to all their friends when they go on vacation - Makes new friends every time they sleep in hostels

Languages: English, Japanese, Afrikaans, Norwegian, Hindi

Ravenclaw:

- Makes loads of flashcards - Studies way too much languages - Loves linguistics - Makes study schedules and bullet journals - Works on their aesthetic - Uses the pomodoro technique - Shares PDFs of textbooks with all their friends - Reads Harry Potter in all their target languages - Has an obcession with buying textbooks - Talks to themseves in their target languages all the time and then gets confused when someone talks to them - Starts a new language just because it sounds nice - Uses a different color for each of their target languages - Makes bucket lists with all the places they want to visit one day - Makes travelbooks to remember their travels - Can read five different alphabets - Dreams of spending a semester in a foreign university - Has ten different keyboards on their phone and doesn’t use half of them - Can spend hours looking at memes instead of studying

Languages: Latin, German, Chinese, Romanian, Persian

Slytherin:

- Makes slang masterposts in their target languages - Studies super hard to be better than their classmates - Gets really competitive - Teaches insults in their native language to foreigners - Studies a language in secret to surprise people by speaking it - Works on their pronunciation while working out - Loves trying new food when they go abroad - Can say “hello” in twenty different languages - Works super hard to get a C2 level - Send memes to their friends in languages they don’t even know - Acts annoyed when their friends asks them to translate something but is secretly very proud to be the official translator of the squad - Gets mad when they want to tell a joke but it doesn’t translate - Pauses their music so they can hear a conversation in their target language in public transportation - Pretends not to know the language a group is speaking so that they can spy on them

Languages: French, Dutch, Russian, Hebrew, Vietnamese

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logophile101

8 years ago

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logophile101

8 years ago

Hey! I Am Really Late With This, But I Though That Some Of You Might Like To See How I Make My Monthly

Hey! I am really late with this, but I though that some of you might like to see how I make my monthly spreads. I did this sort of “infographics” (??? am I even allowed to call this thing infographics??) and even though it looks like this, I had so much fun making it :D. I really don’t know whether this is helpful or not, I tried. In case you’d like to see more tutorials (and hopefully better ones) in the future, let me know please? And thanks if you read it till the end, it’s so long :D

(I totally ran out of space for pictures at the end lol)

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logophile101

8 years ago

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logophile101

7 years ago

Me when I get a 5/10 on a science test: oh well shit happens

Me when I get a 8/10 on a language test: I’m a disgrace to my family shame on me do I dare to go home with this I will forever be an outcast of this society

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logophile101

8 years ago

Chinese family tree!

Family

家庭 (jiātíng)-family/household

父母 (fùmǔ)-parents

妈妈 (mā ma)-mom

爸爸 (bà ba)-dad

儿子 (ér zi)-son

女儿 (nǚ ér)-daughter

哥哥 (gē ge)-older brother

姐姐 (jiě jie)-older sister

弟弟 (dì di)-younger brother

妹妹 (mèi mei)-younger sister

奶奶/祖母 (nǎi nai/zǔmǔ)-dad’s mom

爷爷/祖父 (yé ye/zǔfù)-dad’s dad

姥姥 (lǎo lao)-mom’s mom

姥爷 (lǎo ye)-mom’s dad

外婆 (wài pó)-mom’s mom(mostly used in southern China)

外公 (wài gōng)-mom’s dad(mostly used in southern China)

舅舅 (jiùjiu)-uncle(mother’s brother)

舅妈 (jiù mā)-aunt(mother’s brother’s wife)

阿姨 (āyí)-a form of address for a woman of about one’s mother’s age; in southern China aunt(mother’s sister)

姨丈 (yí zhàng)-uncle(mother’s sister’s husband)

姑妈 (gū mā)-aunt(father’s sister)

姑丈 (gū zhàng)-uncle(father’s sister’s husband)

叔叔/叔父 (shūshu/shū fù)-uncle(father’s younger brother)

婶婶 (shěn shěn)-aunt(father’s younger brother’s wife)

伯父/伯伯 (bó fù/bóbo)-uncle(father’s older brother)

伯母 (bó mǔ)-aunt(father’s older brother’s wife)

姐夫 (jiě fu)-brother-in-law(older sister’s husband)

妹婿 (mèi xù)-brother-in-law(younger sister’s husband)

嫂嫂 (sǎosao)-sister-in-law(older brother’s wife)

弟媳 (dì xí)-sister-in-law(younger brother’s wife)

堂哥 (táng gē)-older male cousin(father’s side)

堂弟 (táng dì)-younger male cousin(father’s side)

堂姐 (táng jiě)-older female cousin(father’s side)

堂妹 (táng mèi)-younger female cousin(father’s side)

表哥 (biǎo gē)-older male cousin(mother’s side)

表弟 (biǎo dì)-younger male cousin(mother’s side)

表姐 (biǎo jiě)-older female cousin(mother’s side)

表妹 (biǎo mèi)-younger female cousin(mother’s side)

侄子 (zhí zi)-nephew(brother’s son)

侄女 (zhí nǚ)-niece(brother’s daughter)

外甥 (wài shēng)-nephew(sister’s son)

外甥女 (wài shēng nǚ)-niece(sister’s daughter)

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logophile101

8 years ago

每一個故事都會結束，但是生活中，每一個故事的結束同時也是一個全新的開始。

Every story has an end, but in life, every ending is a new beginning.

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logophile101

8 years ago

You have $86,400 in your account and someone stole $10 from you, would you be upset and throw all of the $86,390 away in hopes of getting back at the person that took your $10? Or move on and live? Right, move on and live. See, we have 86,400 seconds in every day so don’t let someone’s negative 10 seconds ruin the rest of the 86,390. Don’t sweat the small stuff, life is bigger than that

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