Beginner’s Guide to Chinese Idioms

Lost in Translation

After studying Chinese for a few months, especially if learning Chinese in China, students often start to become confident in their language abilities. As listening skills improve, most find that basic conversations become less intimidating.

Having finally reached the point where they feel comfortable with the language and can understand simple conversations, students of the Chinese language may even begin picking up some local 方言 (fāng yán, dialect).

Then suddenly and without warning, one day they’ll be confronted by a curious phenomena—the Chinese idiom.

Imagine, for a moment, this common scenario: A student is in the process of complaining to a Chinese colleague about how busy the cafeteria is and how there isn’t a chance they’ll get their lunch in time. Her Chinese colleague nods, exclaiming, “人山人海” (rén shān rén hǎi).

Character for character, the student thinks, this sentence seems basic: it translates to “People Mountain People Sea.”

Thinking that maybe her colleague was speaking in slang (俚语, lǐyǔ) or in a local dialect (方言, fāng yán), she asks him to repeat the phrase, but this repetition only confirms both that the student heard her colleague correctly the first time and that she is utterly lost. Smiling awkwardly, she tries to steer the conversation towards more intelligible waters.

In fact, 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi) is a Chinese idiom that simply means “a sea of people.”

What are 成语 (chéngyǔ)?

Often called “Chinese idioms” in English, the term 成语 (chéngyǔ) can be directly translated as “already made words” or “formed words.”

Woven together over thousands of years out of ancient myths, fairy tales, philosophical musings, poetry and folktales, Chinese idioms are a testament to the longevity and continuity of the Chinese language. Depending on which source you consult, there are between 5,000 and 20,000 of them. Although most are thousands of years old, they are still very much in use in contemporary Chinese.

There are also modern Chinese idioms that have recently popped up in Chinese online communities and Internet chat rooms.

Whether used to angrily emphasize a point during an argument, sincerely encourage someone not to quit, or try to show off mastery of the classics, Chinese idioms are bandied about on a daily basis, and some are quite useful for expressing a variety of different meanings.

If you don’t learn at least a few idioms, then many of the nuances of a conversation will pass you by. (However, using them incorrectly also comes with its own set of risks.)

The majority of Chinese idioms are composed of four characters. If they refer to a mythical story or historical incident, as many do, they will succinctly paraphrase some of the most important elements of that story or incident, thereby serving as a kind of mnemonic device for students.

Over the course of their education, elementary and high school students in China memorize thousands of idioms as part of their Chinese education.

Chinese Idioms and the Importance of Context: 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi)

Let’s further consider the original 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi) Chinese idiom that stumped our student in the crowded cafeteria as an example.

Upon returning home after her exasperating cafeteria experience, she will perhaps start digging around on the Internet and in her trusty Chinese dictionary app Pleco. In Pleco, she will find this definition for that bewildering set of characters:

(idiom) huge crowds of faces; sea of people; a multitude; a vast crowd

Ah-ha! “A mountain of people, an ocean of people.”

Her colleague in the cafeteria was agreeing and commiserating with her. Saying “rénshān rénhǎi” was just the equivalent of saying, “Yeah, bummer, the cafeteria is super full today.”

In fact, this chéngyǔ frequently comes in handy. Often when discussing social problems, an overpacked metro station or a downturn in the economy, Chinese people will resort to sighing deeply and then muttering this idiom as a way of expressing the idea that, “China really has a lot of people!” The fact that 人山人海 is used regularly makes sense considering China’s large population.

Unfortunately, and to the frustration of many Mandarin learners, not all chéngyǔ are so straightforward. Because their source material is usually classical Chinese texts or historical records, chéngyǔ often use strange characters or familiar Chinese characters in strange ways that don’t seem to make grammatical sense, at least from the perspective of modern Chinese grammar.

Even if you completely grasp every character used (“People” “Mountain” “People” “Sea”), without additional context, some idioms can seem inscrutable.

Chinese Idioms and the Importance of History: 破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu) and 以一当十 (yǐ yī dāng shí)

The chéngyǔ 破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu) transliterates to “break the pots and sink the boats” while 以一当十 (yǐ yī dāng shí) literally means “one to ten.”

These idioms are both excellent examples of how essential it is to have a working knowledge of Chinese history in order to understand how to employ a chéngyǔ. Were these Chinese idioms to be used in isolation among people unfamiliar with their historical roots, they would be nearly impossible to decipher. With some knowledge of their historical background, however, their meanings suddenly reveal themselves.

In the bitterly cold winter of 207 B.C., the commander Xiang Yu was at the head of a ragged force of 50,000 rebels. Their enemy was the Imperial army of the seemingly invincible Qin Empire under the leadership of Zhang Han.

The emperor sent Zhang Han south to put down the rebellion by any means necessary and placed more than 300,000 imperial soldiers under his command. To the shock and horror of his lieutenants, rebel general Xiang Yu decided that instead of hiding and waiting for the Qin forces to hunt him down and destroy his army, he would attack them.

He readied the army for battle and made for the Yellow River. Upon crossing the river, he again horrified his men by ordering that they sink their own ships, destroy their cooking utensils, and bring only enough provisions for 3 days.

The rebel Xiang Yu’s message was clear: victory or death. In the nine engagements that followed, Xiang Yu’s rebel soldiers are said to “each have taken on ten foes.” After losing more than 100,000 of his men, Xiang Yu’s enemy fled.

Thus, with Xiang Yu’s victory in mind, the meaning of 破釜沉舟 (pò fǔ chén zhōu) becomes clear. According to Pleco, it means, “reaching a point of no return; to stake everything on success.” Equally self-evident is the meaning of 以一当十, which Pleco translates as: “every one of (them, us) is worth ten ordinary people.”

In this way, learning Chinese history will help you master chéngyǔ.

Learn Useful Chinese Idioms

There is a witty chéngyǔ for almost every event or circumstance: tests and graduations, laziness and procrastination, evil and how to keep it away, work ethic and success, etc. Although most are four characters in length, some are not. For example, one common favorite is five characters long:

山高皇帝远 (shān gāo, huáng dì yuǎn)

“The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.”

The closest English equivalent might be, “When the cat’s away, the mice will play,” but this doesn’t capture the depth of mischievousness often involved in this chéngyǔ.

When you’re having a girls night out and everyone begins to gossip about their boyfriends: “The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.”

If you’re on an international business trip with a colleague and he brazenly uses the company card to buy drinks: “The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.”

When you catch grandpa having a secret smoke behind the house, he smiles at you and says… yes, you guessed it: “The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.”

There are truly a huge number of wonderful videos on YouTube on chéngyǔ as well as many other helpful resources available for free online. Such videos will walk you through the literal meaning, pronunciation, and appropriate context for using commonly heard chéngyǔ.

Six Common Chéngyǔ to Learn Today

1. 卧虎藏龙 (wò hǔ cáng lóng)

Literal translation: crouching tiger, hidden dragon

Meaning: a place or situation that is full of people with unusual talents

Example sentence: 那个小地方真是卧虎藏龙! | nà gè xiǎo dì fāng zhēn shì wò hǔ cáng lóng! | That little place really has many talented/extraordinary people!

2. 废寝忘食 (fèi qǐn wàng shí)

Literal translation: fail to sleep and forget to eat

Meaning: a description of a diligent, hard-working person; to skip meals for the sake of hard work

Example sentence: 他总是为了工作废寝忘食。| tā zǒng shì wèi le gōng zuò fèi qǐn wàng shí. | For the sake of his job, he’s always working extremely hard.

3. 七嘴八舌 (qī zuǐ bā shé)

Literal translation: seven mouths, eight tongues

Meaning: a situation or discussion in which everyone is talking

Example sentence: 小声一点! 别七嘴八舌的！ | xiǎo shēng yī diǎn! bié qī zuǐ bā shé de! | Don’t be so loud! Don’t everyone speak at once!

4. 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú)

Literal translation: adding feet when drawing a snake

Meaning: to improve something unnecessarily; to ruin the effect by adding something superfluous

Example sentence: 你们这是把时间浪费在画蛇添足上。 | nǐ men zhè shì bǎ shí jiān làng fèi zài huà shé tiān zú shàng. | You’re wasting your time adding unnecessary stuff.

5. 惊弓之鸟 (jīng gōng zhī niǎo)

Literal translation: a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string

Meaning: once bitten, twice shy

Example sentence: 每个人都成了惊弓之鸟。 | měi gè rén dōu chéng le jīng gōng zhī niǎo. | Everyone became frightened out of their wits.

6. 千山万水 (qiān shān wàn shuǐ)

Literal translation: a thousand mountains and ten thousand waters

Meaning: a long and tiring journey

Example sentence: 他们跨过千山万水，终于来到了这里。 | tā men kuà guò qiān shān wàn shuǐ, zhōng yú lái dào le zhè lǐ. | They’ve gone through a lot to finally arrive here.

In addition to the idioms outlined above, Chinese contains a wealth of idioms and sayings about all sorts of topics from learning to the family and beyond. The more idioms and sayings you learn to use, the more natural your spoken and written Chinese will become.

Want to learn even more about Chinese idioms and the Chinese language? Find out how CLI’s Chinese program options can greatly enhance your understanding of Chinese language and culture, and check out our article on the Anatomy of Chinese Characters! We look forward to welcoming you to Guilin.

22 Common Chinese Idioms