| Even if you’ve mastered your difficult grammar structures long ago and are well on your way to fluency, you might have missed out on those wonderful four-character Chinese idioms, chengyu. What’s so beautiful about them is that chengyu make use of simple characters that—when put together—could refer to something that’s totally unrelated to the individual characters. Many people may skip learning learning chengyu thinking that it’s unnecessary, but that’s a big no-no. Unknown to many, chengyu are already an inherent part of the Chinese language. So if you want to be a great Chinese speaker, it’s best to learn some chengyu. 1. 一鸣惊人 (yī míng jīng rén) 一鸣惊人 means to become famous overnight. 一鸣 means one sound or one chirp and 惊人 is synonymous to surprising. Literally, the phrase means a sound that surprises people. So figuratively, it refers to becoming famous overnight. Example: 真了不起! 谁会想到他会一鸣惊人! zhēn liăo bù qĭ! shéi huì xiăng dào tā huì yī míng jīng rén. (Amazing! Who would have thought he’d become famous overnight!) 2. 一丝不苟 (yī sī bù gŏu) 一丝不苟 refers to being meticulous, never careless. 一丝 means a strand and 不苟 means to not be careless. It’s usually used to describe a person who is never careless in anything that he or she does. So, this person is one to never miss out even a single strand or a single thing. Example: 他对每件事都是一丝不苟. tā duì měi jiàn shì dōu shì yī sī bù gŏu. (He’s always meticulous in every single thing he does.) 3. 自相矛盾 (zì xiāng máo dùn) 自相矛盾 means to contradict oneself. 矛盾 means a contradiction, so if you include 自, which is self, you’ll get a self-contradiction. Example: 这种人不值得相信. 他说的每句话总是自相矛盾. zhè zhŏng rén bù zhí dé xiāng xìn. tā shuō de mĕi jù huà zǒng shì zì xiāng máo dùn. (People like him are not worth trusting. He’s always contradicting his every word.) 4. 多才多艺 (duō cái duō yì) 多才多艺 means multi-talented. 才 and 艺 both refer to skill or talent. Since 多 means plenty, this chengyu refers to someone who is extremely talented. Example: 有机会学就尽量让他去学, 以后你儿子就会成为多才多艺的人. yŏu jī huì xué jiù jìn liàng ràng tā qù xué, yĭ hòu nĭ ér zi jiù huì chéng wéi duō cái duō yì de rén. (You should let your son learn whenever there’s an opportunity so that he’ll grow up to become a multi-talented individual.) 5. 独一无二 (dú yī wú èr) 独一无二 refers to something that is unique. 独 means only and 无 means none. Literally, this chengyu means that there is only one and there is no number two. Example: 她又漂亮又能干. 简直是世界上独一无二! tā yòu piào liàng yòu néng gàn. jiăn zhí shì shì jiè shàng dú yī wú èr! (She’s beautiful and talented. There’s really no one like her in this world.)  6. 左右为难 (zuŏ yòu wéi nán) 左右为难 means to be in a dilemma or in a difficult situation. 左右 means left and right. If you are having difficulty going left or right, that means you are caught up in a tight situation and cannot find a way out. Example: 怎么办? 我实在想不通. 真让我左右为难. zĕn me bàn? wŏ shí zài xiăng bù tōng, zhēn rang wŏ zuŏ yòu wéi nán. (What to do? I’m in a dilemma. I simply can’t make up my mind.) 7. 塞翁失马 (sài wēng shī mă) 塞翁失马 means a blessing in disguise. It is used to refer to the silver lining after a dark cloud. It’s like finding something good that is totally unexpected, like when you’re in the midst of a setback or a misfortune. Example: 他生病住院时和他的护士恋爱了, 真是塞翁失马, 焉知非福啊! tā shēng bìng zhù yuàn shí hé zhào gù tā de hù shì liàn ài le, zhēn shì sài wēng shī mă, yān zhī fēi fú a! |
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