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chinese > Idiomatic Expressions > Flashcards

Idiomatic Expressions Flashcards

1
Q

冰冻三尺，非一日之寒

A

Bīngdòng sān chǐ, fēi yīrì zhī hán

It takes more than 1 cold day for a river to freeze 3 feet deep

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2
Q

不能一口吃成胖子

A

Bùnéng yīkǒu chī chéng pàngzi

You can’t get fat with one mouthful

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3
Q

不可避免

A

bùkěbìmiǎn

Unavoidable / Unavoidably

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4
Q

金字招牌

A

jīnzìzhāopai

Most Reliable / Well Established

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5
Q

寥寥无几

A

liáoliáowújǐ

Not Many At All

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6
Q

美梦成真

A

měimèngchéngzhēn

Dreams Come True

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7
Q

前所未有

A

qiánsuǒwèiyǒu

Unprecedented

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8
Q

捧腹大笑

A

pěngfùdàxiào

Uproarious / Hilarious / To Split One’s Sides Laughing

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9
Q

有所不同

A

yǒusuǒbùtóng

To Differ to Some Extent

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10
Q

概莫能外

A

gàimònéngwài

Without Exception / No Exception

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11
Q

以身作则

A

yǐshēnzuòzé

To Set an Example

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12
Q

突发奇想

A

tūfāqíxiǎng

To suddenly have a thought or to suddenly be inspired to do something.

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13
Q

丰富多彩

A

fēngfùduōcǎi

Richly colorful.

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14
Q

争先恐后

A

zhēngxiānkǒnghòu

Striving to be first and fearing to be last / outdoing one another.

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15
Q

与日俱增

A

yǔrìjùzēng

To increase steadily / to grow with each passing day.

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16
Q

引人注目

A

yǐnrénzhùmù

To attract attention / eye-catching / conspicuous.

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17
Q

翻山越岭

A

fānshānyuèlǐng

To pass over mountains ridges / fig. the hardships of the journey.

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18
Q

脱颖而出

A

tuōyǐng’érchū

To reveal one’s talent / to rise above others / to distinguish oneself .

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19
Q

超凡脱俗

A

chāofántuōsú

To stand out as extraordinary.

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20
Q

如火如荼

A

rúhuǒrútú

Like wildfire / unstoppable.

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21
Q

一举两得

A

yījǔliǎngdé

One move, two gains / two birds with one stone.

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22
Q

迫在眉睫

A

pòzàiméijié

lit. Pressing in on one’s eyelashes / fig. Imminent.

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23
Q

座无虚席

A

zuòwúxūxí

lit. A banquet with no empty seats / full house / capacity crowd / standing room only.

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24
Q

愚公移山

A

yúgōngyíshān

The old man moves mountains / fig. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

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25
Q

记忆犹新

A

jìyìyóuxīn

To remain fresh in one’s memory.

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26
Q

世外桃源

A

shìwàitáoyuán

Peach Blossom Spring / a hidden land of peace and prosperity / utopia / paradise.

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27
Q

应运而生

A

yìngyùnérshēng

lit. To emerge to meet a historic destiny / fig. To arise at an opportune time / able to take advantage of an opportunity / to rise to the occasion.

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28
Q

活到老,学到老

A

huódàolǎo,
xuédàolǎo

One is never too old to learn.

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29
Q

翻天覆地

A

fāntiānfùdì

lit. Sky and the earth turning upside down / fig. Complete confusion / everything turned on its head.

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30
Q

大街小巷

A

dàjiēxiǎoxiàng

lit. Great streets and small alleys / fig. Everywhere in the city.

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31
Q

能歌善舞

A

nénggēshànwǔ

lit. Can sing and dance / fig. A person of many talents.

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32
Q

天上掉馅饼

A

tiānshang diào xiànbǐng

lit. A pie in the sky / fig. A free lunch.

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33
Q

天有不测风云

A

tiānyǒubùcèfēngyún

lit. A storm may arise from a clear sky / fig. Something unexpected may happen any time.

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34
Q

靠山吃山,靠水吃水

A

kàoshānchīshān, kàoshuǐchīshuǐ

lit. Those living on a mountain live off the mountain, those living near the water live off the water / fig. To make living with the local advantages.

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35
Q

车水马龙

A

chēshuǐmǎlóng

lit. Endless stream of horse and carriages / fig. Heavy traffic.

36
Q

如鱼得水

A

rúyúdéshuǐ

fig. Like a fish back in water / lit. Glad to be back in one’s proper surroundings.

37
Q

白手起家

A

báishǒuqǐjiā

to build up from nothing / to start from scratch

38
Q

入乡随俗

A

rùxiāngsuísú

when in Rome do as the Romans do, when you enter a village follow the local customs.

39
Q

塞翁失马焉知非福

A

sàiwēngshīmǎ yān zhī fēi fú

the old an lost his mare but it all turned out for the best, a blessing in disguise

40
Q

井底之蛙

A

jǐng dǐ zhī wā

“a frog at the bottom of a well.”, naïve

41
Q

酒池肉林

A

jiǔ chí ròu lín

lakes of wine and forests of meat (idiom); debauchery / sumptuous entertainment

42
Q

酒肉朋友

A

jiǔ ròu péng you

lit. drinking buddy (idiom) / fig. fair-weather friend

43
Q

精明强干

A

jīng míng qiáng gàn

intelligent and capable (idiom)

44
Q

举手之劳

A

jǔ shǒu zhī láo

lit. the exertion of lifting one’s hand (idiom) / fig. a very slight effort

45
Q

不三不四

A

bù sān bù sì

dubious / shady / neither one thing nor the other / neither fish nor fowl / nondescript

46
Q

出其不意

A

chū qí bù yì

to do sth when least expected (idiom); to catch sb off guard

47
Q

滴水不漏

A

dī shuǐ bù lòu

lit. not one drop of water can leak out / watertight / rigorous (argument)

48
Q

晃晃悠悠

A

huàng huang yōu yōu

swaying / wobbling

49
Q

如醉如痴

A

rú zuì rú chī

lit. as if drunk and stupefied (idiom) / intoxicated by sth / obsessed with / mad about sth

50
Q

自欺欺人

A

zì qī qī rén

to deceive others and to deceive oneself / to believe one’s own lies

51
Q

旁若无人

A

páng ruò wú rén

to act as though there were nobody else present / unselfconscious / fig. without regard for others

52
Q

一言以蔽之

A

yī yán yǐ bì zhī

to sum up in one word, in a nutshell

53
Q

以人废言

A

yǐ rén fèi yán

to reject a word because of the speaker, to judge on preference rather than merits

54
Q

何足挂齿

A

hé zú guàchǐ

not worth mentioning, don’t mention it

55
Q

半斤八两

A

bànjīnbāliǎng

six of one and half a dozen of the other, not much to choose between the two

56
Q

埋头苦干

A

máitóu kǔ gàn

to bury oneself in work, up to the neck in work

57
Q

由来已久

A

yóulái yǐ jiǔ

long-standing, time-honoured

58
Q

多多益善

A

duōduōyìshàn

the more the better, the more the merrier

59
Q

近在咫尺

A

jìn zài zhǐchǐ

well within reach, to be close at hand

60
Q

一举两得

A

yījǔliǎngdé

kill two birds with one stone, one move two gains

61
Q

马马虎虎

A

mǎmǎhǔhǔ

so-so, not so bad, fair, vague

62
Q

徒劳无功

A

túláowúgōng

make a futile effort, work to no avail

63
Q

一见钟情

A

yījiànzhōngqíng

love at first sight

64
Q

忠言逆耳

A

zhōngyánnì’ěr

faithful words offend the ear, the truth hurts, good advice jars on the ear

65
Q

不见不散

A

bùjiàn bú sàn

even if we don’t see each other don’t give up and leave, be sure to wait!

66
Q

独一无二

A

dúyīwú’èr

unique and unmatched, unrivalled

67
Q

显而易见

A

xiǎn’éryìjiàn

clearly and easy to see, it goes without saying

68
Q

滥竽充数

A

lànyúchōngshù

  • To be a token member of a group
  • To be a fraud; less talented than perceived
  • To pretend to have an ability in order to be part of a group
  • A placeholder or makeweight that is just there to fill a quota
69
Q

指鹿为马

A

zhĭlùwéimă

“calling a stag, a horse”, This idiom means to deliberately mislead or distort facts

70
Q

有眼不识泰山

A

yǒu yǎn bù shí tài shān

the idiom is used to show that someone is uninformed, to be uninformed

71
Q

画蛇添足

A

huàshé-tiānzú

to ruin something, by adding something unnecessary

72
Q

拭目以待

A

shìmùyǐdài

lit. to wipe one’s eyes and wait / fig. to wait and see

73
Q

迫在眉睫

A

pòzàiméijié

lit. pressing in on one’s eyelashes / fig. imminent

74
Q

大饱眼福

A

dàbǎoyǎnfú

to feast one’s eyes

75
Q

一步一个脚印

A

yībùyīgèjiǎoyìn

lit. one step, one footprint / fig. steady progress / reliable

76
Q

争先恐后

A

zhēngxiānkǒnghòu

striving to be first and fearing to be last / outdoing one another

77
Q

义无反顾

A

yìwúfǎngù

lit. honour does not allow one to glance back fig. duty-bound not to turn back / no surrender / to proceed without hesitation

78
Q

大手大脚

A

dàshǒudàjiǎo

extravagant / to throw away money by the handful / wasteful

79
Q

断断续续

A

duàn duàn xù xù 。

on-and-off (As in, I’ve been learning Chinese on-and-off for 4 years)

80
Q

半途而废

A

bàn tú ér fèi

to give up on something without achieving the goal/to give up halfway

81
Q

事半功倍

A

shì bàn gōng bèi

Half the work, twice the effect

82
Q

事倍功半

A

shì bèi gōng bàn

Twice the efforts, half the result

83
Q

恍然大悟

A

huǎng rán dà wù

To suddenly understand something

84
Q

比比皆是

A

bǐ bǐ jiē shì

Everywhere/very common

85
Q

一窍不通

A

yī qiào bù tōng

a complete lack of comprehension or knowledge

chinese (19 decks)

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