Daily Chinese Idioms and Proverbs
One line of Chinese worth keeping, every day: an idiom people actually say, with the story behind it. Each has pinyin, tap-any-word lookup, an English meaning, and audio.
Today's idiom锦上添花jǐn shàng tiān huālit. add flowers to brocadeSep. 9th 2026精益求精jīng yì qiú jīngto constantly seek to improve; to keep perfectingSep. 8th 2026井井有条jǐng jǐng yǒu tiáoeverything clear and orderly ; neat and tidySep. 7th 2026兴高采烈xìng gāo cǎi lièhappy and excitedSep. 6th 2026心不在焉xīn bù zài yānabsent-mindedSep. 5th 2026恍然大悟huǎng rán dà wùto suddenly realize; to suddenly see the lightSep. 4th 2026情不自禁qíng bù zì jīncannot refrain from; cannot help; cannot butSep. 3rd 2026莫名其妙mò míng qí miàobaffling; bizarre; without rhyme or reason; inexplicableSep. 2nd 2026名副其实míng fù qí shínot just in name only, but also in realitySep. 1st 2026全力以赴quán lì yǐ fùto do at all costsAug. 31st 2026迫不及待pò bù jí dàiunable to hold oneself back; eager to do sth without delayAug. 30th 2026乱七八糟luàn qī bā zāochaotic; in disorder; muddledAug. 29th 2026以防万一yǐ fáng wàn yīto guard against the unexpected ; just in caseAug. 28th 2026一模一样yī mú yī yàngexactly alike; identicalAug. 27th 2026无能为力wú néng wéi lìpowerless to do anything about itAug. 26th 2026一无所知yī wú suǒ zhīnot knowing anything at all; completely ignorantAug. 25th 2026与众不同yǔ zhòng bù tóngto stand out from the crowd; distinctive; different from the restAug. 24th 2026谢天谢地xiè tiān xiè dìthank goodnessAug. 23rd 2026无论如何wú lùn rú héwhatever the case; in any event; no matter what; by all possible meansAug. 22nd 2026不可思议bù kě sī yìinconceivable; unimaginable; unfathomableAug. 21st 2026难以置信nán yǐ zhì xìnhard to believe; incredibleAug. 20th 2026风雨同舟fēng yǔ tóng zhōulit. in the same boat under wind and rain ; fig. to stick together in hard timesAug. 19th 2026半途而废bàn tú ér fèito give up halfway ; leave sth unfinishedAug. 18th 2026一举两得yī jǔ liǎng délit. one action, two gainsAug. 17th 2026事半功倍shì bàn gōng bèito achieve twice the result with half the effortAug. 16th 2026欲速则不达yù sù zé bù dá(the Analects) haste makes waste; things can't be rushedAug. 15th 2026物以类聚wù yǐ lèi jùsimilar things come together ; like draws likeAug. 14th 2026覆水难收fù shuǐ nán shōuspilt water is difficult to retrieveAug. 13th 2026光阴似箭guāng yīn sì jiàntime flies like an arrow ; How time flies!Aug. 12th 2026百闻不如一见bǎi wén bù rú yī jiànseeing once is better than hearing a hundred times ; seeing for oneself is better than hearing from many othersAug. 11th 2026滴水穿石dī shuǐ chuān shídripping water penetrates the stone ; constant perseverance yields successAug. 10th 2026有备无患yǒu bèi wú huànPreparedness averts peril.Aug. 9th 2026一石二鸟yī shí èr niǎoto kill two birds with one stoneAug. 8th 2026熟能生巧shú néng shēng qiǎowith familiarity you learn the trick ; practice makes perfectAug. 7th 2026入乡随俗rù xiāng suí súWhen you enter a village, follow the local customs ; do as the natives doAug. 6th 2026杞人忧天Qǐ rén yōu tiānlit. like the man of 杞[Qi3] who feared the sky would fallAug. 5th 2026朝三暮四zhāo sān mù sìlit. say three in the morning but four in the evening ; to change sth that is already settled uponAug. 4th 2026南辕北辙nán yuán běi zhéto act in a way that defeats one's purposeAug. 3rd 2026买椟还珠mǎi dú huán zhūto buy a wooden box and return the pearls insideAug. 2nd 2026自相矛盾zì xiāng máo dùnto contradict oneselfAug. 1st 2026黔驴技穷Qián lǘ jì qióngto exhaust one's limited abilitiesJul. 31st 2026螳臂当车táng bì dāng chēlit. a mantis trying to stop a chariotJul. 30th 2026邯郸学步Hán dān xué bùto copy the way they walk in HandanJul. 29th 2026一鸣惊人yī míng jīng rénto amaze the world with a single brilliant feat ; an overnight celebrityJul. 28th 2026滥竽充数làn yú chōng shùlit. to play the yu 竽 mouth organ to make up numbers ; fig. to make up the numbers with inferior productsJul. 27th 2026狐假虎威hú jiǎ hǔ wēilit. the fox exploits the tiger's might ; fig. to use powerful connections to intimidate peopleJul. 26th 2026望梅止渴wàng méi zhǐ kělit. to quench one's thirst by thinking of plumsJul. 25th 2026纸上谈兵zhǐ shàng tán bīnglit. military tactics on paperJul. 24th 2026负荆请罪fù jīng qǐng zuìlit. to bring a bramble and ask for punishmentJul. 23rd 2026完璧归赵wán bì guī Zhàolit. to return the jade annulus to Zhao ; fig. to return something intact to its rightful ownerJul. 22nd 2026指鹿为马zhǐ lù wéi mǎmaking a deer out to be a horse ; deliberate misrepresentationJul. 21st 2026三顾茅庐sān gù máo lúlit. to make three visits to the thatched cottage (allusion to an episode in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[San1 guo2 Yan3 yi4] in which Liu Bei 劉備|刘备[Liu2 Bei4] recruits Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮|诸葛亮[Zhu1 ge3 Liang4] to his cause by visiting him three times)Jul. 20th 2026卧薪尝胆wò xīn cháng dǎnlit. to sleep on brushwood and taste gall (like King Goujian of Yue 勾踐|勾践[Gou1 jian4], in order to recall one's humiliations)Jul. 19th 2026破釜沉舟pò fǔ chén zhōulit. to break the cauldrons and sink the boats ; fig. to cut off one's means of retreatJul. 18th 2026叶公好龙Yè Gōng hào lónglit. Lord Ye's passion for dragonsJul. 17th 2026愚公移山yú gōng yí shānthe old man moves mountains ; fig. where there's a will, there's a wayJul. 16th 2026刻舟求剑kè zhōu qiú jiànlit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard ; fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstancesJul. 15th 2026掩耳盗铃yǎn ěr dào línglit. to cover one's ears whilst stealing a bellJul. 14th 2026杯弓蛇影bēi gōng shé yǐnglit. to see a bow reflected in a cup as a snake ; fig. unnecessary suspicionsJul. 13th 2026对牛弹琴duì niú tán qínlit. to play the lute to a cowJul. 12th 2026亡羊补牢wáng yáng bǔ láolit. to mend the pen after sheep are lostJul. 11th 2026塞翁失马sài wēng shī mǎlit. the old man lost his horse, but it all turned out for the bestJul. 10th 2026守株待兔shǒu zhū dài tùlit. to guard a tree-stump, waiting for rabbitsJul. 9th 2026井底之蛙jǐng dǐ zhī wālit. a frog at the bottom of a wellJul. 8th 2026画蛇添足huà shé tiān zúlit. draw legs on a snake ; fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous