The Chinese Idiom Dictionary: Volume 3

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: Feb 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463061442

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 3

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: 9780463061442

Distributed by Smashwords

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Introduction

Chéngyǔ are a form of traditional Chinese idioms. 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 of them is 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 had 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 it 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 the 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

T

tā

他山攻错

tā shān gōng cuò

Advice from others may help a person to overcome their shortcomings.

Reference: 《诗经·小雅·鹤鸣》

Quote: 他山之石，可以为错。

tài

太平盛世

tài píng shèng shì

Times of peace and prosperity.

Reference: 鲁迅《坟·灯下漫笔》

Quote: 复古的，避难的，无智愚贤不肖，似乎都已神往于三百年前的太平盛世，就是‘暂时做稳了奴隶的时代’了。

泰然自若

tài rán zì ruò

To keep cool. / To be composed.

Reference: 华而实《汉衣冠》三

Quote: 施天福坦率地注视郑成功，泰然自若地摇头。

tān

贪得无厌

tān dé wú yàn

Insatiable. / To have a constant desire for more.

Reference: 《左传·昭公二十八年》

Quote: 贪婪无厌，忿类无期。

贪多嚼不烂

tān duō jiáo bù làn

To bite off more than one can chew. / To have too much on one’s plate

Reference: 明·凌濛初《二刻拍案惊奇》卷五

Quote: 而今孩子何在？正是贪多嚼不烂了。

贪官污吏

tān guān wū lì

Corrupt officials.

Reference: 元·无名氏《鸳鸯被》第四折

Quote: 一应贪官污吏，准许先斩后闻。

贪生怕死

tān shēng pà sǐ

To be mortally afraid of death.

Reference: 《汉书·文三王传》

Quote: 今立自知贼杀中郎曹将，冬月迫促，贪生畏死，即诈僵仆阳（佯）病，徼幸得逾于须臾。

贪天之功

tān tiān zhī gōng

To take credit for something that was done by another person.

Reference: 《左传·僖公二十四年》

Quote: 窃人之财，犹谓之盗，况贪天之功，以为己力乎？

贪小失大

tān xiǎo shī dà

To seek small gains but suffer big losses.

Reference: 《吕氏春秋·权勋》

Quote: 达子……使人请金于齐王，齐王怒曰：‘若残竖子之类，恶能给若金？’与燕人战，大败，达子死，齐王走莒。燕人逐北入国，相与争金于美唐甚多。此贪于小利以失大利者也。

贪赃枉法

tān zāng wǎng fǎ

To disregard justice for a bribe.

Reference: 元·无名氏《陈州粜米》第二折

Quote: 谁想那两个到的陈州，贪赃坏法饮酒非为。

tán

弹冠相庆

tán guān xiāng qìng

To congratulate one another on new appointments or honors.

Reference: 《汉书·王吉传》

Quote: 吉与贡禹为友，世称‘王阳在位，贡禹弹冠。’

谈虎色变

tán hǔ sè biàn

To turn pale at the mention of something.

Reference: 《二程全书·遗书二上》

Quote: 真知与常知异。尝见一田夫曾被虎伤，有人说虎伤人，众莫不惊，独田夫色动异于众。

昙花一现

tán huā yī xiàn

Fleeting (i.e., to last briefly).

Reference: 《妙法莲华经·方便品》

Quote: 佛告舍利佛，如是妙法，诸佛如来，时乃说之，如优昙钵花，时一现耳。

痰迷心窍

tán mí xīn qiào

Phlegm blocks the heart (i.e., to be befuddled; to have blinded judgment).

Reference: 清·李宝嘉《官场现形记》第一回

Quote: 低头一想：‘明白了，一定是今天赵家孩子中了举，东家见了眼馋，又勾起那痰迷心窍老毛病来了。’

谈天说地

tán tiān shuō dì

To talk about everything under the sun.

Reference: 元·郑德辉《王粲登楼》第二折

Quote: 说地谈天口若开，伏虎降龙志不改。

谈笑风生

tán xiào fēng shēng

To talk in a jovial and interesting way.

Reference: 宋·辛弃疾《念奴娇·赠夏成玉》词

Quote: 遐想后日蛾眉，两山横黛，谈笑风生颊。

谈言微中

tán yán wēi zhòng

To speak concisely or tactfully when making one’s point.

Reference: 《史记·滑稽列传》

Quote: 天道恢恢，岂不大哉！谈言微中，亦可以解纷。

tǎn

忐忑不安

tǎn tè bù ān

Uneasy and anxious. / Apprehensive.

Reference: 清·吴趼人《糊涂世界》卷九

Quote: 两道听了这话，心里忐忑不定。

tàn

探囊取物

tàn náng qǔ wù

As easy as taking something out of one’s pocket.

Reference: