Mandarin Monday: Learning Common Chinese Idioms
Learning Chinese can be a real pain in the pigu. Besides the writing system that shares no common roots with most of the languages used in the Western world, tones also muddy the water, and the thousands of head-scratching idiomatic expressions just add fuel to the fire.
Idioms pose comprehension challenges mainly because it’s difficult to get their real meaning from the literal sense; they only give you an “ah I see” moment once you learn their context. Here, we list a dozen useful and commonly-used Chinese idioms that hopefully will help you to fit in with social situations, or at least impress your Chinese friends.
一石二鸟 (yīshí èrniǎo)
The synonym for this expression is “一箭双雕 yījiàn shuāngdiāo”, “to kill two birds with one stone” means “to solve two problems at once.”
Example sentence:
他不仅谈成了一笔生意，还交了一位朋友，真是一石二鸟。
Tā bùjǐn tán chéngle yī bǐ shēngyì, hái jiāole yī wèi péngyǒu, zhēnshi yīshí èrniǎo.
He killed two birds with one stone – negotiated a business deal while making a new friend.
大海捞针 (dàhǎi lāo zhēn)
“To look for a needle in the ocean” means “to look for something that is impossible to find.” Counterpart expression in English: “a needle in a haystack.”
Example sentence:
在这个大城市里找一个人无异于大海捞针。
Zài zhège dà chéngshì lǐ zhǎo yīgè rén wú yì yú dàhǎi lāo zhēn.
Searching for one man in this big city is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
炒鱿鱼 (chǎo yóuyú)
“To fry the octopus” means “to get fired from your job.”
Example sentence:
他上班总是迟到早退，被老板炒鱿鱼了。
Tā shàngbān zǒng shì chídào zǎotuì, bèi lǎobǎn chǎo yóuyú le.
He got fired because he is always late to work and leaves early.
说曹操曹操就到 (shuō cáocāo cáocāo jiù dào)
This one means that the person you’re just talking about actually turns up at that moment. Cao Cao was a chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD-220 AD). The expression was said to be based on the real story that Cao Cao dropped by when the Emperor Xian of Han was going to summon him to safeguard the emperor. Counterpart expression in English: “to speak of the devil.”
Example sentence:
说曹操曹操就到，我们正在讨论新来的同事，他就走进来了。
Shuō cáocāo cáocāo jiù dào, wǒmen zhèngzài tǎolùn xīn lái de tóngshì, tā jiù zǒu jìnláile.
Speaking of the devil, the new colleague walked in when we were talking about him.
小菜一碟 (xiǎocài yī dié)
Literally means “a plate of food.” Counterpart in English: “a piece of cake.”
Example sentence:
任务中最难的部分已经结束了，剩下的是小菜一碟。
Rènwù zhōng zuì nán de bùfèn yǐjīng jiéshùle, shèng xià de shì xiǎocài yī dié.
The hardest part of the mission is over, and the rest is just a piece of cake.
不要在一棵树上吊死 (bùyào zài yī kē shù shàngdiào sǐ)
“Don’t hang yourself on one tree” means “don’t invest all into a single opportunity at the risk of losing everything.” Counterpart expression in English: “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Example sentence:
这个办法行不通就换一个试试，不要在一棵树上吊死。
Zhège bànfǎ xíng bùtōng jiù huàn yīgè shì shì, bùyào zài yī kē shù shàngdiào sǐ.
Try another way if this one doesn’t work. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
九牛一毛 (jiǔniú yīmáo)
“One hair from nine oxen” means “a tiny amount amongst a huge quantity.” Counterpart expression in English: “a drop in the ocean.”
Example sentence:
这点损失对他来说，只不过是九牛一毛。
Zhè diǎn sǔnshī duì tā lái shuō, zhǐ bùguò shì jiǔniú yīmáo.
For him, the loss was only a drop in the ocean.
唱白脸 (chàng bái liǎn)
“To sing white faced” means “to play the villain.” In traditional Chinese dramas, the antagonist usually wears white-faced make-up. The antonym is 唱红脸 chàng hóng liǎn “to sing red faced.” A similar expression in English is “to do the dirty work.”
Example sentence:
你只要负责在这个纸上签字就可以了，白脸我来唱。
Nǐ zhǐyào fùzé zài zhège zhǐ shàng qiānzì jiù kěyǐle, bái liǎn wǒ lái chàng.
You go ahead and sign this paper, and I’ll do the dirty work.
吃不了兜着走 (chī bùliǎo dōuzhe zǒu)
“To get more than one bargained for.”
Example sentence:
这件事情要是出了什么差错，老板会让你吃不了兜着走。
Zhè jiàn shìqíng yàoshi chūle shénme chācuò, lǎobǎn huì ràng nǐ chī bùliǎo dōuzhe zǒu.
You’re asking for real trouble from the boss if you can’t get this done well.
穿小鞋 (chuān xiǎoxié)
“To wear small shoes” means “to be punished in an underhand way.”
Example sentence:
玛丽得罪了校长，因此校长就常给她穿小鞋。
Mǎlì dézuìle xiàozhǎng, yīncǐ xiàozhǎng jiù cháng gěi tā chuān xiǎoxié.
Mary angered the president, who made life very difficult for her.
闯红灯 (chuǎng hóngdēng)
“Run a red light” means “to break the rules.”
Example sentence:
他期末考试作弊，在老师的眼皮子底下闯红灯。
Tā qímò kǎoshì zuòbì, zài lǎoshī de yǎnpí zi dǐxia chuǎng hóngdēng.
He ran the red light in front of the teacher and cheated on the final exam.
打水漂 (dǎ shuǐpiāo)
“To skip stones” means “to put money in jeopardy.”
Example sentence:
他投资的时候太过草率，十万块钱就这么打水漂了。
Tā tóuzī de shíhòu tàiguò cǎoshuài, shí wàn kuài qián jiù zhème dǎ shuǐpiào le.
He made a rash decision to invest, putting his RMB 100,000 in jeopardy.
Want more? Mandarin Monday: The Easy Way to Learn Chinese Tones
Photo: internchina.com
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