The most common Chinese idioms (chengyu) and their stories
The top 3 according to 0 votes from people: Drawing legs on a snake · Waiting by a tree stump for a hare · Mending the pen after the sheep is lost. (Updated Nov 6, 2020.)
The four-character idioms Chinese speakers use every day, each with the ancient story behind it and its meaning.
Automatically translated (original in 简体中文). See the original
Top 15
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1
Drawing legs on a snake
From the Warring States records: a man finished drawing his snake first, added legs and lost the contest. Doing something unnecessary that ruins it.
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2
Waiting by a tree stump for a hare
From the Han Feizi: a farmer saw a hare die against a stump and waited there for more. Relying on luck instead of effort.
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3
Mending the pen after the sheep is lost
From the Warring States records: it's not too late to fix the pen after losing a sheep. Fix a problem before it gets worse.
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4
Playing the lute to a cow
From a Han dynasty text: the cow can't appreciate the music. Wasting words on the wrong audience.
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5
A frog at the bottom of a well
From the Zhuangzi: the frog thinks the sky is as big as the well's mouth. Someone with a narrow view.
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6
The old man at the frontier loses his horse
From the Huainanzi: the lost horse came back with another fine horse. A misfortune may be a blessing in disguise.
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7
Sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall
King Goujian of Yue slept on brushwood and tasted bile to remember his defeat until he took revenge. Enduring hardship to achieve a goal.
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8
The fox borrowing the tiger's might
From the Warring States records: the fox walked ahead of the tiger to scare the other animals. Using someone else's power to bully others.
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9
Covering one's ears to steal a bell
From the Lüshi Chunqiu: the thief covered his own ears, thinking no one would hear. Fooling oneself.
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10
Spear and shield contradicting each other
From the Han Feizi: a seller claimed his spear pierced everything and his shield stopped everything. Self-contradiction.
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11
Adding the eyes when painting a dragon
Legend says painter Zhang Sengyou's dragons flew away once he painted their eyes. The finishing touch that brings something to life.
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12
Marking the boat to find a lost sword
From the Lüshi Chunqiu: a man marked the boat where his sword fell into the river. Clinging to methods that no longer apply.
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13
Breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats
Xiang Yu destroyed his army's pots and boats after crossing a river so there was no way back. Burning one's bridges.
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14
Having the bamboo already in one's mind
The Song painter Wen Tong pictured the whole bamboo before painting it. Having a well-thought-out plan beforehand.
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15
Mistaking the bow's reflection in a cup for a snake
A guest fell ill thinking the reflection of a bow in his wine was a snake. Being frightened by imaginary fears.
Candidates
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16
One stone, two birds
Killing two birds with one stone.
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Comments (1)
塞翁失马，焉知非福，这个成语我最喜欢。