View of Taipei from Yangmingshan National Park.
At this stage in my Chinese learning, I have hit a peak with spoken Chinese and I have been putting all my energy into learning more written Chinese. Chinese idioms are special because normally they are only four characters and you need to memorize what they mean in order to understand; this is the education that is taught in Taiwan elementary schools that I was never able to be a part of. It can be hard to pick up idioms just out of context. However there are not a lot of English resources that focus on just idioms, and the ones that do don't filter out the commonly used idioms. So I have created this list using commonly used idioms selected from the dictionary by a native speaker. If you can memorize these, you can drastically improve your formal Chinese reading and formal Chinese writing skills. This is a major project and it will probably take me a few years to cataloger all of the useful idioms in the dictionary. The list below is organized according to character stroke order and will be added upon regularly. FYI: the reason it is not a table is for SEO purposes, so this list can be found in Google. Also, all these translations are from yours truly, translated in my head by reading the Chinese definitions.
在這個階段我的中文學習主要專注於閲讀及寫作。成語特別難因爲每一個都需要背起來，但是有太多沒有用的成語，所以我請了一位台灣朋友幫我整理比較常見的成語。以下是常用成語的中翻英對照表，我會陸陸續續把字典裏面所有有用的成語寫上去，可能要花個幾年的時間。以下所有翻譯都是我親自從中文字典里面的解釋直接翻成英文，如果有問題可以在下面留言。 一畫/One Stroke 成語 /Chinese Idiom 拼音/Pinyin 英文/English 一了百了 Yīliǎobǎiliǎo 英文翻譯:/translation: When one thing is done, everything is done 一刀兩斷 yīdāoliǎngduàn 英文翻譯:/translation: End relations 一口咬定 yīkǒu yǎodìng 英文翻譯:/translation: Stubborn 一夕三遷 yī xī sān qiān 英文翻譯:/translation: Live comfortably 一夕髮白 yī xī fà bái 英文翻譯:/translation: Stressed out 一心一意 yīxīnyīyì 英文翻譯:/translation: Of one heart and one mind 一文不值 yīwén bù zhí 英文翻譯:/translation: No value 一五一十 yī wǔ yīshí 英文翻譯:/translation: Explain clearly 一元複始 yī yuán fù shǐ 英文翻譯:/translation: New year 一日三秋 yī rì sānqiū 英文翻譯:/translation: Be separated for a long time 一手包辦 yīshǒu bāobàn 英文翻譯:/translation: One person in charge 一手遮天 yīshǒuzhētiān 英文翻譯:/translation: Cover up; hide corruption 一毛不拔 yīmáobùbá 英文翻譯:/translation: Cheap; stubborn 一去不反 yī qù bù fǎn 英文翻譯:/translation: Leave and never come back 一石兩鳥 yī shí liǎng niǎo 英文翻譯:/translation: Kill two birds with one stone 一目十行 yīmùshíháng 英文翻譯:/translation: Fast reader 一目了然 yīmùliǎorán 英文翻譯:/translation: Understand immediately 一代風流 yīdài fēngliú 英文翻譯:/translation: Influential and popular 一股腦兒 yīgǔnǎo er 英文翻譯:/translation: All at once 一字千金 yīzìqiānjīn 英文翻譯:/translation: Valuable piece of literary work 一帆風順 yīfānfēngshùn 英文翻譯:/translation: Smooth sailing, peaceful journey 一年半載 yī nián bàn zǎi 英文翻譯:/translation: Unknown time 一成不變 yīchéngbùbiàn 英文翻譯:/translation: Unchangeable 一言九鼎 Yī yán jiǔdǐng 英文翻譯:/translation: Keep a promise 一言爲定 yī yán wèi dìng 英文翻譯:/translation: I swear/promise 一言難盡 yīyánnánjìn 英文翻譯:/translation: It's a long story; complicated, too complex to explain 一技之長 yījìzhīcháng 英文翻譯:/translation: Professional skill 一男半女 yīnán bàn nǚ 英文翻譯:/translation: No children, lack of children 一見如故 yījiànrúgù 英文翻譯:/translation: Friends at first sight 一見鍾情 yījiànzhōngqíng 英文翻譯:/translation: Love at first sight 一步登天 yībùdēngtiān 英文翻譯:/translation: Easily accomplished 一波三折 yībōsānzhé 英文翻譯:/translation: Full of twists and turns 一板一眼 yībǎnyīyǎn 英文翻譯:/translation: Methodical 一表人才 yībiǎoréncái 英文翻譯:/translation: Handsome 一臥不起 yī wò bù qǐ 英文翻譯:/translation: Death 一拍即合 yīpāijíhé 英文翻譯:/translation: Strangers instantly become friends 一雨成秋 yī yǔ chéng qiū 英文翻譯:/translation: Sudden change in the weather 一長兩短 yī cháng liǎng duǎn 英文翻譯:/translation: Unexpected change 一事無成 yīshìwúchéng 英文翻譯:/translation: Waste time 一味空談 yīwèi kōngtán 英文翻譯:/translation: Nonsense 一念之差 yīniànzhīchā 英文翻譯:/translation: Be mistaken 一知半解 yīzhībànjiě 英文翻譯:/translation: Superficial knowledge 一往情深 yīwǎngqíngshēn 英文翻譯:/translation: Unchanging 一面之詞 yīmiànzhīcí 英文翻譯:/translation: One sided 一面之緣 yīmiàn zhī yuán 英文翻譯:/translation: Not very good friends, one sided friendship 一飛冲天 yī fēi chōngtiān 英文翻譯:/translation: Awesome from the start 一柱擎天 yī zhù qíng tiān 英文翻譯:/translation: Shoulder responsibility 一馬當先 yīmǎdāngxiān 英文翻譯:/translation: Courageous 一笑千金 yīxiào qiānjīn 英文翻譯:/translation: A beautiful person’s smile 一笑置之 yīxiàozhìzhī 英文翻譯:/translation: Ignore 一針見血 yīzhēnjiànxiě 英文翻譯:/translation: Hit the nail on the head 一盤見識 yī pán jiànshì 英文翻譯:/translation: Shallow take 一息奄奄 yīxī yǎn yǎn 英文翻譯:/translation: Almost dead 一息尚存 yī xī shàng cún 英文翻譯:/translation: Life is short 一氣呵成 yīqìhēchéng 英文翻譯:/translation: Do something all at once 一視同仁 yīshìtóngrén 英文翻譯:/translation: Fair judgement 一乾二净 yīgān èr jìng 英文翻譯:/translation: Clean 一敗塗地 yībàitúdì 英文翻譯:/translation: Epic fail 一勞永逸 yīláoyǒngyì 英文翻譯:/translation: Do it once and for all, rest after doing it once 一廂情願 yīxiāngqíngyuàn 英文翻譯:/translation: Selfish 一朝一夕 yīzhāoyīxī 英文翻譯:/translation: Short time 一絲不苟 yīsībùgǒu 英文翻譯:/translation: Matriculate, careful 一絲不掛 yīsībùguà 英文翻譯:/translation: Naked 一筆勾消 yībǐ gōu xiāo 英文翻譯:/translation: Cancelled 一傳眾咻 yī chuán zhòng xiū 英文翻譯:/translation: Teaching interrupted, teaching interrupted by surroundings or muddled by other people 一意孤行 yīyìgūxíng 英文翻譯:/translation: Stubborn 一鼓作氣 yī gǔ zuò qì 英文翻譯:/translation: Strong from the beginning 一塌糊塗 yītāhútú 英文翻譯:/translation: A mess, pile of crap 一落千丈 yīluòqiānzhàng 英文翻譯:/translation: Suddenly fall from grace 一葉知秋 yīyè zhī qiū 英文翻譯:/translation: Know the whole picture from one clue 一塵不染 yīchénbùrǎn 英文翻譯:/translation: Virtuous 一語中的 yī yǔ zhòng de 英文翻譯:/translation: Get to the point 一語道破 yī yǔ dàopò 英文翻譯:/translation: Get to the point 一嗚驚人 yī wū jīngrén 英文翻譯:/translation: Suddenly do something amazing 一網打盡 yīwǎngdǎjìn 英文翻譯:/translation: Catch all criminals at once 一摸一樣 yī mō yīyàng 英文翻譯:/translation: 一暴十寒 yī pù shí hán 英文翻譯:/translation: Unfocused, procrastinate 一箭之地 yī jiàn zhī dì 英文翻譯:/translation: A stone’s throw away 一箭雙鵰 yījiànshuāngdiāo 英文翻譯:/translation: Kill two birds with one stone 一盤散沙 yīpánsǎnshā 英文翻譯:/translation: Disunified 一諾千金 yīnuòqiānjīn 英文翻譯:/translation: Honest, promise is worth gold, word is my bond 一鬨而散 yī hòng ér sàn 英文翻譯:/translation: Disperse after an incident 一錢不明 yī qián bùmíng 英文翻譯:/translation: Extremely poor 一錢不值 Yī qián bù zhí 英文翻譯:/translation: Worthless 一應俱全 yī yīng jùquán 英文翻譯:/translation: Complete 一臂之力 yībìzhīlì 英文翻譯:/translation: Some help 一舉一動 yījǔ yīdòng 英文翻譯:/translation: Every move you make 一舉成名 yījǔ chéngmíng 英文翻譯:/translation: Famous for doing one thing 一舉兩得 yījǔliǎngdé 英文翻譯:/translation: Kill two birds with one stone 一瀉千里 yīxièqiānlǐ 英文翻譯:/translation: Bold and smooth words, 一竅不通 yīqiàobùtōng 英文翻譯:/translation: Uneducated, stupid 一觸即發 yīchùjífā 英文翻譯:/translation: Ticking time bomb, as soon as you touch something it will react 一覽無餘 yīlǎn wúyú 英文翻譯:/translation: See everything 一顯身手 yī xiǎn shēnshǒu 英文翻譯:/translation: Show talents 一肚子鬼胎 yī dùzi guǐtāi 英文翻譯:/translation: Possessed with a devil 一言以蔽隻 yī yán yǐ bì zhī 英文翻譯:/translation: Summarize 一問三不知 yī wèn sānbùzhī 英文翻譯:/translation: Stupid, or secret 一鼻孔出氣 yī bíkǒng chūqì 英文翻譯:/translation: Agree 一不做二不休 yī bù zuò èr bùxiū 英文翻譯:/translation: Finish to the end 一動不如一靜 yīdòng bùrú yī jìng 英文翻譯:/translation: Doing nothing is better than doing something, take no action 一舉手一投足 yī jǔ shǒu yī tóu zú 英文翻譯:/translation: Easy 一人做事一人當 yīrén zuòshì yīrén dāng 英文翻譯:/translation: Responsible for ones actions 一寸光陰一寸金 yīcùn guāngyīn yīcùn jīn 英文翻譯:/translation: Time is money 一日之計在於晨 yī rì zhī jì zàiyú chén 英文翻譯:/translation: The early bird gets the worm 一失足成千古恨 yī shīzú chéng qiāngǔ hèn 英文翻譯:/translation: One mistake brings everlasting grief 一是一，二是二 yī shì yī, èr shì èr 英文翻譯:/translation: Principled 一人之下，萬人之上 yīrén zhī xià, wàn rén zhī shàng 英文翻譯:/translation: High class, powerful person, only the emperor is more powerful 一人得道，雞犬升天 yīrén dé dào, jīquǎnshēngtiān 英文翻譯:/translation: One’s success lifts others close to them 一人傳十，十人穿百 yī rén chuán shí, shí rén chuān bǎi 英文翻譯:/translation: Rumors spread fast, nothing spreads like a rumor 一日爲師，終身爲父 yī rì wèi shī, zhōngshēn wèi fù 英文翻譯:/translation: Earn respect for a lifetime 一份耕耘，一份收穫 yī fèn gēngyún, yī fèn shōuhuò 英文翻譯:/translation: Work hard and you will receive your reward 一言既出，駟馬難追 yī yán jìchū, sìmǎ nán zhuī 英文翻譯:/translation: Hard to take back what you have spoken, no take backs 一波未平，一波又起 yī bō wèi píng, yī bō yòu qǐ 英文翻譯:/translation: One thing after another 二畫/Two Strokes 成語 /Chinese Idiom 拼音/Pinyin 英文/English 丁是丁, 卯是卯 Dīng shì dīng, mǎo shì mǎo 英文翻譯:/translation: Clear, unambiguous 七上八下 qī shàng bā xià 英文翻譯:/translation: Make a mess 七手八腳 Qī shǒu bā jiǎo Frantic 七老八老 qī lǎo bā lǎo 英文翻譯:/translation: Old 七步成詩 qī bù chéng shī 英文翻譯:/translation: Poetic 七拼八凑 qī pīn bā còu 英文翻譯:/translation: Not ideal 七情六慾 qī qíng liùyù 英文翻譯:/translation: Natural lusts of man 七零八落 qī líng bā luò 英文翻譯:/translation: A mess 七嘴八舌 qī zuǐ bā shé 英文翻譯:/translation: Gossip 九牛一毛 jiǔniúyīmáo 英文翻譯:/translation: Insignificant, a drop in the ocean 九死一生 jiǔsǐyīshēng 英文翻譯:/translation: Dangerous 九泉之下 jiǔquán zhī xià 英文翻譯:/translation: Buried in a grave, dead 九霄雲外 jiǔxiāoyúnwài 英文翻譯:/translation: Far away 二八年華 èrbā niánhuá 英文翻譯:/translation: Young and beautiful 二人同心，其利斷金 èr rén tóngxīn, qí lì duàn jīn 英文翻譯:/translation: If there’s a will, there’s a way. Two people united can accomplish anything. 人山人海 rénshānrénhǎi 英文翻譯:/translation: Tons of people 人亡物在 rén wáng wù zài 英文翻譯:/translation: Someone has died, a phrase for mourning the dead 人才濟濟 réncái jǐ jì 英文翻譯:/translation: Lots of talented people 人心叵測 rénxīn pǒcè 英文翻譯:/translation: Unreadable mind, that person is a mystery 人心惶惶 rénxīn huánghuáng 英文翻譯:/translation: Scared 人心思漢 rénxīn sī hàn 英文翻譯:/translation: People wish for the return of a better government 人云亦云 rényúnyìyún 英文翻譯:/translation: Blindly follow, echo views of others 人中騏驥 rén zhōng qí jì 英文翻譯:/translation: Exceptional talent 人去樓空 rén qù lóu kōng 英文翻譯:/translation: A friend leaves suddenly/ a thief leaves suddenly 人死留名 rén sǐ liú míng 英文翻譯:/translation: Famous after death 人仰馬翻 rényǎngmǎfān 英文翻譯:/translation: Chaotic loss, catastrophe 人多嘴雜 rén duōzuǐ zá 英文翻譯:/translation: Jumble of arguing, shouting contest 人言可畏 rén yán kě wèi 英文翻譯:/translation: To critique, words can be scary 人定勝天 réndìngshèngtiān 英文翻譯:/translation: When there’s a will there’s a way, with determination you can overcome all 人命關天 rénmìng guān tiān 英文翻譯:/translation: Human life is important 人面桃花 rén miàn táohuā 英文翻譯:/translation: Blissfully beautiful person 人面獸心 rénmiànshòuxīn 英文翻譯:/translation: Happy on the outside, evil on the inside 人財兩失 Rén cái liǎng shī 英文翻譯:/translation: People and money are lost easily 人海茫茫 rén hǎi mángmáng 英文翻譯:/translation: No friends among many people 人情冷暖 rénqíng lěngnuǎn 英文翻譯:/translation: Change attitude about a person 人貧志短 rén pín zhì duǎn 英文翻譯:/translation: Lose money, lose confidence. No confidence when poor. 人間天堂 rénjiān tiāntáng 英文翻譯:/translation: Paradise on earth 人煙絕跡 rén yān juéjī 英文翻譯:/translation: Remote place, middle of nowhere. 人煙輳集 rén yān còu jí 英文翻譯:/translation: Crowded 人滿爲患 rén mǎn wèi huàn 英文翻譯:/translation: Too large a population is a bad thing 人賊俱獲 rén zéi jù huò 英文翻譯:/translation: Caught red handed, caught with stolen goods in hand 人老心不老 rén lǎo xīn bùlǎo 英文翻譯:/translation: Young at heart 人窮志不窮 rén qióng zhì bù qióng 英文翻譯:/translation: Poor but resolute 人不知鬼不覺 rén bùzhī guǐ bù jué 英文翻譯:/translation: Secret, unknown to man or ghost 人心不足蛇吞象 rénxīn bùzú shé tūn xiàng 英文翻譯:/translation: Super greedy, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant 人心難測水難量 rénxīn nán cè shuǐnán liàng 英文翻譯:/translation: The real intents of the heart are unknowable, like trying to measure the ocean 人生七十古來稀 rénshēng qīshí gǔlái xī 英文翻譯:/translation: From ancient times turning 70 years old is rare 人生何處不相逢 rénshēng hé chù bù xiāngféng 英文翻譯:/translation: It’s a small world 人生得意須盡歡 rénshēng déyì xū jìn huān 英文翻譯:/translation: Live life to the fullest 人怕出名豬怕壯 rén pà chūmíng zhū pà zhuàng 英文翻譯:/translation: Famous people have problems, having too much attention, like a pig is afraid of getting too fat 人到中年萬事休 rén dào zhōng nián wànshì xiū 英文翻譯:/translation: Regression starts at middle age 人非木石，孰能無情 rén fēi mùshí, shú néng wúqíng 英文翻譯:/translation: Everyone has emotions, no one is made of wood or stone 人爲財死，鳥爲食亡 rén wèi cái sǐ, niǎo wèi shí wáng 英文翻譯:/translation: People will die to get money 人要衣裝，佛要金裝 rén yào yīzhuāng, fú yào jīn zhuāng 英文翻譯:/translation: Good looking clothes are important, the clothes make the woman 人無遠慮，必有近憂 rén wúyuǎnlǜ, bì yǒu jìn yōu 英文翻譯:/translation: Having no plans for the future will cause problems for the present 人無千日好，花無百日紅 rén wú qiān rì hǎo, huā wú bǎirìhóng 英文翻譯:/translation: Nothing lasts forever, everyone will get old and die 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量 rén bùkě màoxiàng, hǎishuǐ bùkě dǒu liàng 英文翻譯:/translation: Don’t judge a book by its cover 入木三分 rùmù sān fēn 英文翻譯:/translation: Written forcefully, similar to real life 入耳著心 rùěrzhe xīn 英文翻譯:/translation: Diligent 入境隨俗 rùjìng suísú 英文翻譯:/translation: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Ask about local taboos. 八面玲瓏 bāmiànlínglóng 英文翻譯:/translation: Charismatic, social 刀下留人 dāo xià liú rén 英文翻譯:/translation: Don’t’ kill me, spare my life 刀光劍影 dāoguāngjiànyǐng 英文翻譯:/translation: Killing like flies 力不從心 lìbùcóngxīn 英文翻譯:/translation: The heart is willing but the body is weak 力爭上游 lìzhēngshàngyóu 英文翻譯:/translation: Be the top of one’s class 力疾奔走 lì jí bēnzǒu 英文翻譯:/translation: Spare no effort 十全十美 shíquánshíměi 英文翻譯:/translation: Perfect 十步芳草 shí bù fāng cǎo 英文翻譯:/translation: There are talented people everywhere 十拿九穩 shínájiǔwěn 英文翻譯:/translation: Good understanding, successfully grasp a skill/concept 十惡不赦 shí'èbùshè 英文翻譯:/translation: Unforgivable 三畫/Three Strokes 成語 /Chinese Idiom 拼音/Pinyin 英文/English 三十而立 Sānshí érlì 英文翻譯:/translation: Become successful and established at 30 years old
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Author 作家We are US Expats that have extensive experience living, working, and travelling in Taiwan. In our day, we had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But we have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. Our blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. We are just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Archives 檔案
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