Like adding wings to a tiger ? What is it? The chengyu 如虎添翼 (rú hǔ tiān yì) breaks down into the words: like (如Rú) tiger (虎hǔ) add (添tiān) wings (翼yì). This translates nicely to “like adding wings to a tiger” in English. Now, what does it mean to add wings to a tiger? As you[…]
Chinese Chengyu – 招兵买马 – To recruit soldiers and buy horses Chinese chengyu 招兵买马 (zhāo bīng mǎi mǎ) breaks down to into recruit (招zhāo ) soldiers (兵bīng) buy (买mǎi) horses (马 mǎ). This is translated into English as ‘recruit soldiers, buy horses.” You can take this chéngyǔ at face value since the meaning is essential “to raise a[…]
What is a Chengyu? Learning about Chinese Idioms Have you heard the word ‘Chengyu’ before? Do you what is a chengyu? Chinese Chengyu (成语) is a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expression, or simply ‘Chinese idioms’ in Chinese language learning, typically consisting of four characters. It is widely used in Classical Chinese and are still common in[…]
Chinese Chengyu – 狼多肉少 – Many Wolves Little Meat Chinese Chengyu 狼多肉少 (láng duō ròu shǎo) literally translates to wolf (狼 láng) many (多 duō) meat (肉 ròu), little (少 shǎo). Or, in more standard English, ‘many wolves, little meat.’ This is one of the more direct chéngyǔ, that doesn’t require a huge background story to[…]
Chinese Chengyu – 狗急跳墙 – A Nervous Dog Jumps Over the Wall The chéngyǔ 狗急跳墙 (gǒu jí tiào qiáng) breaks down to a dog (狗 gǒu) nervous (急 jí) jumps (跳 tiào) wall (墙 qiáng) Or, in more standard English, ‘A nervous dog jumps over the wall.’ While it may make sense on the surface,[…]
Animal Chengyu – Drawing a snake and adding legs to it? Animal Chinese Chengyu 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú ) breaks down to drawing (画 huà ) snake (蛇shé) add (添tiān) legs/feet (足 zú). In English, we would say “drawing the snake and adding legs to it” or simply “adding legs to a snake.” This chéngyǔ[…]