100 + Common Chinese Idioms (Chengyu)

幸灾乐祸 (xìng zāi lè huò)

to enjoy others' misfortunes

沉鱼落雁 (chén yú luò yàn)

extremely beautiful

绝无仅有 (jué wú jǐn yǒu)

one of a kind; unique

力不从心 (Lì bù cóng xīn)

the qualities aren't at the level of the aspirations

亦步亦趋 (yì bù yì qū)

to blindly imitate someone

滔滔不绝 (tāo tāo bù jué)

without interruption

桃李满天下 (táolǐ mǎn tiān xià)

to have pupils everywhere

不可得兼 (bù kě dé jiān)

you can't have both at the same time

不得其法 (bù dé qí fǎ)

not knowing the right way

心神不宁 (xīn shén bù níng)

to feel bad about nothing

一本正经 (yī běn zhèng jīng)

to always be serious

独一无二 (dú yī wú'èr)

unique

数一数二 (shǔ yī shǔ'èr)

the best; considered among the best

损人利己 (sǔn rén lì jǐ)

to seek benefit at the expense of others

省吃俭用 (shěng chī jiǎn yòng)

to live frugally

婀娜多姿 (ē nuó duō zī)

to be graceful

应运而生 (yìngyùn'érshēng)

to emerge thanks to a favorable situation

厮守终生 (sīshǒu zhōngshēng)

to be together forever

寓意深远 (yùyì shēnyuǎn)

morale is very low

一切就绪 (yīqièjiùxù)

everything is in order

囫囵吞枣 (hú lún tūn zǎo)

to swallow information without assimilating it

塞翁失马 (焉知非福) (sài wēng shī mǎ (yān zhī fēi fú))

not all bad comes to cause harm

狼吞虎咽 (láng tūn hǔ yàn)

to brush away food like a wolf

避而不见 (bì'ér bù jiàn)

to avoid meeting someone

成千上万 (chéng qiān shàng wàn)

thousands

依依不舍 (yī yī bù shě)

to be reluctant to leave something

如期而至 (rú qī ér zhì)

to arrive in time

自作聪明 (zì zuò cōngmíng)

to be presumptuous

废寝忘食f (èi qǐn wàng shí)

forgetting to eat and sleep so as to do something

一门心思 (yī mén xīn si)

to be solely concentrated on doing something

深情厚谊 (shēn qíng hòu yì)

long and intimate friendship

死里逃生 (sǐ lǐ táo shēng)

to find a way out of certain death

铺天盖地 (pū tiān gài dì)

to cover over everything

与众不同 (yǔ zhòng bù tóng)

different than the crowd

心甘情愿 (xīn gān qíng yuàn)

to be extremely happy to do something

无可奈何 (wú kě nài hé "non)

to have alternatives

眼见为实 (yǎn jiàn wéi shí)

to believe in what can be seen

耳听为虚 (ěr tīng wèi xū)

to not believe in what you hear

十全十美 (shí quán shí měi)

perfect

星火燎原 (xīng huǒ liáo yuán)

a single spark creates a blaze

夸大其词 (kuā dà qí cí)

exaggerate

举目无亲 (jǔ mù wú qīn)

to be a stranger in a strange land

四海为家 (sì hǎi wéi jiā)

to make every place your home; live as a hobo

小心翼翼 (xiǎo xīn yì yì)

extremely cautious

焕然一新 (huàn rán yī xīn)

to take on a completely new appearance

乱七八糟 (luàn qī bā zāo)

in complete disorder

不自觉地 (bù zìjué de)

unconsciously

筋疲力尽 (jīn pí lì jìn)

to feel exhausted

顺其自然 (shùn qí zì rán)

to let nature take its course

恋恋不舍 (liàn liàn bù shě)

to be reluctant to leave

擦肩而过 (cā jiān'ér guò)

to brush up against someone in passing

迫不及待 (pò bù jí dài)

impatiently waiting

无所不谈 (wú suǒ bù tán)

to talk about everything under the sun

不谋而合 (bù móu'ér hé)

to agree without discussion

不以为然 (bù yǐ wéi rán)

to consider something unacceptable

我行我素 (wǒ xíng wǒ sù)

to stick to your own way of doing things

栩栩如生 (xǔ xǔ rú shēng)

as vivid as life

莞尔一笑 (wǎn'ěr yī xiào)

to give a faint smile

胡说八道 (hú shuō bā dào)

to talk nonsense

眉飞色舞 (méi fēi sè wǔ)

to be exultant, exuberant

漫无目的 (màn wú mùdì)

to be without a goal

左顾右盼 (zuǒ gù yòu pàn)

to look to the left and right

一针见血 (yī zhēn jiàn xiě)

to hit the mark

轻而易举 (qīng'ér yì jǔ)

easy to do

全心全意 (quán xīn quán yì)

to do something with all your heart

相去甚远 (xiāng qù shènyuǎn)

to make a big difference

彬彬有礼 (bīn bīn yǒu lǐ)

sophisticated

称兄道弟 (chēng xiōng dào dì)

to be like brothers with someone; to have a great relationship

相提并论 (xiāng tí bìng lùn)

to be placed at the same level of

惟妙惟肖 (wéi miào wéi xiào)

to be just like the real thing

忙里偷闲 (máng lǐ tōu xián)

to find time for pleasure between work

全神贯注 (quán shén guàn zhù)

absorbed, absorbed in

缘木求鱼 (yuán mù qiú yú)

to use counterproductive methods to do something

见钱眼开 (jiàn qián yǎn kāi)

to be desirous of money

见利忘义 (jiàn lì wàng yì)

to forget integrity so as to achieve gain

下不为例 (xià bù wéi lì)

it will not set a precedent

可想而知 (kě xiǎng'ér zhī)

as you can well imagine

不翼而飞 (bù yì'ér fēi)

to suddenly disappear

惊慌失措 (jīng huāng shī cuò)

caught in panic

龇牙咧嘴 (zī yá liě zuǐ)

to grit your teeth in pain

火上加油 (huǒ shàng jiā yóu)

to throw fuel on the fire

雪上加霜 (xuě shàng jiā shuāng)

one disaster after another

如愿以偿 (rú yuàn yǐ cháng)

fully satisfied desires

无理取闹 (wú lǐ qǔ nào)

to create problems for no reason

对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín)

to speak about someone

理直气壮 (lǐ zhí qì zhuàng)

to do something while knowing you're in the right

思前想后 (sī qián xiǎng hòu)

to accurately ponder over something

如释重负 (rú shì zhòng fù)

to feel freed of a great burden

不可开交 (bù kě kāi jiāo)

extremely (busy)

重温旧梦 (chóng wēn jiù mèng)

to relive an old experience; relive an old dream

兴致勃勃 (xìng zhì bó bó)

full of enthusiasm

如影随形 (rú yǐng suí xíng)

inseparable; followed like your own shadow

千言万语 (qiān yán wàn yǔ)

thousands and thousands of words

惴惴不安 (zhuì zhuì bù'ān)

on thorns

大惊小怪 (dà jīng xiǎo guài)

great fuss over something ordinary; to complain unjustifiably

不足挂齿 (bù zú guà chǐ)

nothing to talk about

天涯海角 (tiān yá hǎi jiǎo)

far off worlds (expressing a very large distance)

垂垂老矣 (chuí chuí lǎo yǐ)

always older

白发苍苍 (bái fa cāng cāng)

from white hairs

低三下四 (dī sān xià sì)

mean, petty