{"id":15254,"date":"2020-11-10T18:51:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T22:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=15254"},"modified":"2020-11-10T18:51:56","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T22:51:56","slug":"chinese-idioms-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/chinese-idioms-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun With Chinese Idioms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just like English, Chinese is a language with countless idioms. Studying Chinese idioms not only helps you improve your language skills, but it also provides insights into a rich culture that is thousands of years old. They aren’t exactly always easy to incorporate into your day-to-day life, but it’s still fun to learn some Chinese idioms. I’ll introduce a few of them to you today to get you started, but first a little background information…<\/p>\n

Understanding Chinese Idioms<\/h2>\n

In Chinese, the word for idiom<\/strong> (\u6210\u8bed – ch\u00e9ng y\u01d4) literally means \u201cto become a part of the language.\u201d All idioms are composed of four characters, and most come from ancient literature. As such, the meaning of the idiom itself is usually more than the four characters on their own can describe.<\/p>\n

The overall meaning is linked to the story or myth from which it came. They can be difficult to understand, as they do not follow the usual grammatical structure and syntax of the modern Chinese spoken language.<\/p>\n

Translating Chinese idioms directly to English can be quite confusing. That should come as no surprise, though. Just consider what native Chinese speakers might think when they hear English idioms like “raining cats and dogs” or “put a sock in it.” Idioms aren’t always easy to understand, but they are still culturally interesting!<\/p>\n

3 Classic Chinese Idioms<\/h2>\n

Now that you know a bit about Chinese idioms, here are 3 classic ones that you can practice:<\/p>\n

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Wield the axe.
Image by Markus Spiske from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

\u73ed\u95e8\u5f04\u65a7
\nb\u0101n m\u00e9n n\u00f2ng f\u01d4
\n“Wield the axe before Master Carpenter Luban”<\/h3>\n

Background<\/em>: In ancient times, Lu Ban<\/em> (\u9c81\u73ed – l\u01d4 b\u0101n) was a carpenter with such incredible skills that one time, a wooden phoenix that he carved was so life-like it actually flew for three days. As such, one was considered a complete buffon for trying to show off their skills with an axe in front of Master Luban.<\/p>\n

Meaning:<\/em> This is a derogatory idiom that can be used to describe someone who shows off in front of an expert. Alternatively, it can be self-effacing if used when presenting work to others for review and\/or comments.<\/p>\n