HSK 5 Chinese Idioms (Chengyu)

Hold to it with steady persistence — keep showing up.

Spring is warm, flowers bloom — the season of blossoms; a time of renewal.

Dripping water pierces stone — small efforts compound across time.

Playing the qin to an ox — wasting eloquence on an audience that can't appreciate it.

Gentle wind, bright sun — a beautiful day.

In the same boat through wind and rain — sharing hardships together.

The fox borrows the tiger's might — using someone else's power to bully others.

Drawing feet on a snake — overdoing it, ruining something by adding what's unnecessary.

Persevere without slackening — keep at it without letting up.

Firmly settled, unmoved — resolutely committed.

A frog at the bottom of a well — a person with narrow horizons who mistakes their tiny world for the whole.

From one example, infer three more — generalise from a single case.

Keep chiseling without giving up — persist through the slow grind.

Go all out — commit your full strength to it.

A sea of people; a huge crowd.

Half-hearted; indecisive; fickle.

Clear mountains, beautiful waters — a place of striking natural scenery.

Waiting by a tree stump for a rabbit — passively waiting for luck instead of working for it.

To haggle over a price; to bargain.

Share the sweet and the bitter — go through everything together.

Mend the pen after losing the sheep — better late than never.

Revisit the old to understand the new.

Learning has no end. There's no limit to how much you can keep learning.

Smooth sailing all the way — everything going perfectly.

Kill two birds with one stone — accomplish two things with one action.

One word and it's settled — done deal.

The Foolish Old Man moves the mountains — generational determination outlasts any obstacle.

Contradicting oneself — like the man who sold both an unbreakable shield and an unstoppable spear.