The Chinese Idiom Dictionary: Volume 1

By Maki Hayasaka and Mei Li

The Chinese Idiom Dictionary is a massive collection of traditional chengyu, carefully organized for easy reference. Each idiom is provided in its traditional form, with both Pinyin and English translations accompanying them. In addition, every expression has a detailed note of its traditional source to give readers a deeper understanding of the context that surrounds and informs each saying, faithfully preserved in Chinese.

For anyone with an interest in Chinese language, culture, or philosophy, don’t miss out on this authoritative three-volume collection!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maki Hayasaka
• Release date: Jan 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463928493

Maki Hayasaka

Maki Hayasaka is a sociolinguist and has worked in Japanese studies for nearly two decades. Her focus as a language researcher has been on the relationship between English and Japanese, and how native speakers of one language can best learn the other.

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The Chinese Idiom Dictionary

Volume 1

Mei Li

Maki Hayasaka

First published 2020

Publication © Rockwaller Books 2020

Text © Mei Li and Maki Hayasaka 2020

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Publisher: Rockwaller Books

Editor: Dane Wallace

Proofreader: Hua Chen

Cover design: Emma Grey

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@RockwallerBooks

ISBN: 9780463928493

Distributed by Smashwords

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Introduction

Chéngyǔ are a form of traditional Chinese idiom. Most of them consist of four characters and convey a wide range of nuanced meanings. Learners of Chinese will usually encounter them early on in their studies, although the sheer number of them can be intimidating for new and experienced speakers alike. The precise number of chéngyǔ is impossible to say, but there are approximately 5,000 of them in common use (with as many as 20,000 cited by some sources, although the vast majority are quite obscure).

These idiomatic sayings provide valuable and fascinating insights into the culture, history, and collective wisdom of the Chinese people, touching on topics from love and beauty to war, business, and morality. As a result, a deep understanding and mastery of these expressions is regarded by many as a reflection of high education and cultural sophistication.

But even on a more personal level, chéngyǔ are a natural part of any learner’s journey to becoming fluent in Chinese: it is incredibly hard to walk the talk as a higher-level speaker or listener of the language without being able to recognize their usage or understand the specific meaning they impart in a particular context.

Although most chéngyǔ have their origin in ancient or classic Chinese literature, there is a fair number of them that have emerged from even the twentieth century (especially from Western material that has increasingly found global audiences over the past two hundred years).

In many cases, chéngyǔ offer a form of precis of the original story they originate from, retelling it in an extremely succinct and conceptual way. Other chéngyǔ are direct quotes from their source material, utilizing key characters in the poem or story and adding in necessary particles to make them grammatical. As a result, these chéngyǔ can often be seen as snapshots of Classical Chinese literature, with all the archaic vocabulary and conventions that such historical material necessarily involves.

By their nature, this means that chéngyǔ impart information far more concisely (and thus abstractly) than people do in their regular speech and writing, which is part of the reason why new learners of Chinese can struggle to grasp their nuanced meanings. Another reason is the fact that chéngyǔ can take the role of any part of speech, from an independent clause (that is, one with a subject and predicate) to a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Naturally, this requires a good foundation in the language to reliably use and interpret such phrases correctly.

Given how conceptual the language often needs to be to convey a multifaceted moral or message in around four characters, the modern translations usually require a fair amount of either contextual information or localization to assist with their intended meaning. Otherwise, the reader or listener can be faced by a group of characters that don’t seem to express an intelligible meaning in isolation.

Of course, not all chéngyǔ originate from ancient stories, poems, and myths, as this dictionary demonstrates. There are a number of idiomatic expressions that have direct English equivalents. Although these are more recent additions to the language, as we mentioned a bit earlier, it is interesting to see that they still use the vocabulary and syntax of Classical Chinese, adopting the general structure of four characters to convey their meaning. This qualifies them as chéngyǔ for inclusion in this series of dictionaries.

For every chéngyǔ, we provide the original form of the expression, Pinyin and English translations (with additional contextual notes as needed), the source from which that saying originates, as well as the relevant quote for context. As a result, given the vast number of chéngyǔ that we detail, it soon became a necessity to break this dictionary into three volumes. Volume 1 covers letters A to H, Volume 2 covers J to S, and Volume 3 covers T to Z.

It is our hope that this resource will assist new and experienced speakers of Chinese to gain a deeper insight into this ancient and fascinating culture. And what better way to achieve that than through the beauty of its language?

We’re excited to be joining you on this journey.

Mei Li

Maki Hayasaka

A

āi

哀兵必胜

āi bīng bì shèng

Meaning: An army burning with righteous indignation is certain to win.

Reference: 《老子》第六十九章

Quote: 祸莫大于轻敌，轻敌几丧吾宝，故抗兵相加，哀者胜矣。

哀鸿遍野

āi hóng biàn yě

Meaning: A land swarming with starving, homeless people (especially describing a region after suffering a disaster; derogatory usage to describe homelessness).

Reference: 《诗经·小雅·鸿雁》

Quote: 鸿雁于飞，哀鸣嗷嗷。

挨家挨户

āi jiāi hù

Meaning: From house to house / from door to door (typically in describing a search).

Reference: 老舍《四世同堂》七四

Quote: 自从他作了副县长，随着白巡长挨家挨户地收铜铁，他的美誉便降落了许多。

唉声叹气

āi shēng tàn qì

Meaning: To heave a deep sigh (especially in despair).

Reference: 明·凌濛初《二刻拍案惊奇》卷三十八

Quote: 终日价没心没想，哀声叹气。

ài

爱不释手

ài bù shì shǒu

Meaning: To love something too much to part with it.

Reference: 南朝·梁·萧统《陶渊明集序》

Quote: 余爱嗜其文，不能释手。

爱财如命

ài cái rú mìng

Meaning: To love gold [wealth] as one’s life.

Reference: 清·岭南羽衣女士《东欧女豪杰》第四回

Quote: 我想近来世界，不管什么英雄，什么豪杰，都是爱财如命，何况吃官司的，少不免要和那些狼官鼠吏交手，这更没钱不行了。

爱莫能助

ài mò néng zhù

To be willing to help but to be unable to do so.

Reference: 《诗经·大雅·烝民》

Quote: 维仲山甫举之，爱莫助之。

爱钱如命

ài qián rú mìng

To love money like life. / To have a cheeseparing attitude.

Reference: 明·谢谠《四喜记·大宋毕姻》

Quote: 既称月老，又号冰人，爱钱如命，说谎能神，自家高媒婆是也。

碍手碍脚

ài shǒu ài jiǎo

To be a hindrance to others. / To prevent others from doing something.

Reference: 明·凌濛初《初刻拍案惊奇》第三十二卷

Quote: 后边有些嫌忌起来，碍手碍脚，到底不妙。

爱屋及乌

ài wū jí wū

Love me, love my dog.

Reference: 《尚书大传·大战》

Quote: 爱人者，兼其屋上之乌。

爱憎分明

ài zēng fēn míng

For love and hate to have a clear standpoint.

Reference: 陈若曦《耿尔在北京》

Quote: 他很困惑，也很痛苦，想不到爱憎分明、坚强独立的小睛会怕人‘闲话’。

ān

安步当车

ān bù dàng chē

To walk leisurely instead of riding (in a carriage).

Reference: 《战国策·齐策四》

Quote: 晚食以当肉，安步以当车，无罪以当贵，清静贞正以自虞。

安不忘危

ān bù wàng wēi

Don’t forget about danger in times of peace.

Reference: 《周易·系辞下》

Quote: 是故君子安而不忘危，存而不忘亡，治而不忘礼，是以身安而国家可保也。

安分守己

ān fèn shǒu jǐ

To safeguard oneself with integrity and honesty.

Reference: 宋·袁文《翁牖闲评》八

Quote: 彼安分守己，恬于进取者，方且以道义自居，其肯如此侥幸乎？

安家落户

ān jiā luò hù

To settle down. /