Internet Chinese Idioms

红红火火, hong hong huo huo

flourishing, prosperous and lively

指指点点, zhi zhi dian dian

to point fingers and criticize, to gossip or comment discreetly

相夫教子, xiang fu jiao zi

to assist one’s husband and educate the children

归心似箭, gui xin si jian

eager to return home, the heart flies home like an arrow

马不停蹄, ma bu ting ti

nonstop, without a break

四面八方, si mian ba fang

from all directions, all around

跨越时空, kua yue shi kong

to transcend time and space

权衡利弊, quan heng li bi

to weigh the pros and cons

硬着头皮, ying zhe tou pi

to force oneself to do something difficult or unpleasant

传宗接代, chuan zong jie dai

to carry on the family line, to have descendants

孤独终老, gu du zhong lao

to live out one’s life in loneliness, to grow old alone

不孝有三, bu xiao you san

there are three ways to be unfilial

无后为大, wu hou wei da

having no descendants is the worst

此起彼伏, ci qi bi fu

rising one after another, happening continuously

幸灾乐祸, xing zai le huo

to take pleasure in others’ misfortunes

脱颖而出, tuo ying er chu

to stand out; to emerge as a talent

冷嘲热讽, leng chao re feng

sarcastic and mocking, ridicule with biting words

指日可待, zhi ri ke dai

just around the corner, soon to be realized

崇洋媚外, chong yang mei wai

to blindly worship foreign things or cultures

精美绝伦, jing mei jue lun

exquisitely beautiful and incomparable, extremely fine

遥遥领先, yao yao ling xian

far ahead, leading by a large margin

深入人心, shen ru ren xin

to deeply impress people, to be well received and understood

赞不绝口, zan bu jue kou

to praise endlessly, full of praise

身无分文, shen wu fen wen

not a penny to one’s name, completely penniless

无处不在, wu chu bu zai

to be everywhere, omnipresent

翘首以盼, qiao shou yi pan

to eagerly look forward to, to wait expectantly

一分钱一分货, yi fen qian yi fen huo

you get what you pay for, the quality matches the price

焦头烂额, jiao tou lan e

in deep trouble and exhausted, badly burned out

热气腾腾, re qi teng teng

steaming hot, full of heat and energy

高楼林立, gao lou lin li

skyscrapers stand in great numbers, a forest of tall buildings

显而易见, xian er yi jian

obvious and easy to see, clear and self-evident

不可或缺, bu ke huo que

indispensable, absolutely necessary

未来可期, wei lai ke qi

the future is promising, great things can be expected

拭目以待, shi mu yi dai

wait and see, watch with anticipation

气急败坏, qi ji bai huai

flustered and furious, in a rage and panic

自乱阵脚, zi luan zhen jiao

to panic and mess up one’s own plan or position

大打折扣, da da zhe kou

to be greatly reduced (in value, quality, or credibility), not as good as expected

不予理会, bu yu li hui

to ignore, to pay no attention to

喜怒无常, xi nu wu chang

moody, emotionally unstable, changes between joy and anger unpredicatbly

出尔反尔, chu er fan er

to go back on one’s word, to contradict oneself

翻手为云，覆手为雨, fan shou wei yun, fu shou wei yu

to change unpredictably and manipulate at will

不求上进, bu qiu shang jin

unambitious, not motivated to improve or make progress

放任不管, fang ren bu guan

to let things slide, to ignore or neglect without interference