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Chengyu (traditional Chinese: 成語; simplified Chinese: 成语; pinyin: chéngyǔ; trans. "set phrase") are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of which consist of four Chinese characters. Chengyu were widely used in Literary Chinese and are still common in written vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today.
This category is for Chinese idioms for which there is an English equivalent (in terms of connotation). Pages in category "Chinese idioms with an English equivalent" This category contains only the following page.
Among chengyu (Chinese: 成語; pinyin: chéngyǔ), traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions, one finds the saying Chinese: 塞翁失馬，焉知非福. Sài wēng shī mǎ, yān zhī fēi fú [4] [3] The old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the best. The meaning is How could one know that it is not good fortune? [5] Short versions
(Paper tiger is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zhǐ lǎohǔ (Chinese: 紙老虎), meaning something which seems as threatening as a tiger, but is really harmless. The phrase is an ancient one in Chinese, but sources differ as to when it entered the English vocabulary.
Heaven is high and the emperor is far away is a Chinese proverb thought to have originated from Zhejiang during the Yuan dynasty. [1] Both historically and in contemporary China, the proverb has a variety of uses, for example: (1) in reference to local government autonomy, (2) in reference to corruption of local officials or lawlessness, or (3) in reference to minor offenses committed outside ...
"Three men make a tiger" (Chinese: 三人成虎; pinyin: sān rén chéng hǔ) is a Chinese proverb or chengyu (four-character idiom). "Three men make a tiger" refers to an individual's tendency to accept absurd information as long as it is repeated by enough people.
Kill the chicken to scare the monkey (traditional Chinese: 殺雞儆猴; simplified Chinese: 杀鸡儆猴; pinyin: Shājījǐnghóu; Wade–Giles: Sha-chi-ching-hou, lit. kill chicken scare monkey) is an old Chinese idiom. It refers to making an example out of someone in order to threaten others. [1]
The idiom can be rendered in English as "flower in the mirror, moon on the water", suggesting things that can be seen but not touched, being reflected in mirrors or the surface of still water; it is often used as an idiomatic shorthand for "something that is beautiful but unattainable", such as dreams and mirages. [1]