HSK 5 · Education

成语 chéngyǔ “idiom” in Chinese

Traditional 成語

What 成语 means

  1. idiom
  2. four-character set expression
  3. Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation
  4. proverb
  5. saying
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • adage

Measure word 条 tiáo or 本 běn · 一条成语 yì tiáo chéngyǔ

How to say 成语

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale成chéng2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale语yǔ3rd tone, dipping

成语 in a sentence

  1. 问心无愧是一个成语。

    Wènxīnwúkuì shì yí ge chéngyǔ.

    “Having a clear conscience” is an idiom.

    Sentence #9817742 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我把成语全部还给老师了。

    Wǒ bǎ chéngyǔ quánbù huán gěi lǎoshī le.

    I’ve forgotten every idiom the teacher taught me.

    Sentence #900762 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 成语 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 成 (chéng) with each of its parts in a different colour
成chéngto succeed
  • 戈halberd · gē
  • 丁part of the character
The character 语 (yǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
语yǔdialect
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 吾I · wúSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 吾 (wú) hints at the sound. Compare it with yǔ.

Memory aidWords 讠 that I 吾 say: language. 吾 (wú) also gives the sound.

How to write 成语

成 6 strokes · 语 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

成语 (chéngyǔ) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 成语 (chéngyǔ). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 成语

Words with 成

完成wánchéng · to complete成绩chéngjì · achievement变成biànchéng · to turn into成功chénggōng · success成为chéngwéi · to become养成yǎngchéng · to cultivate成人chéngrén · adult赞成zànchéng · to approve成立chénglì · to establish成长chéngzhǎng · to grow up

Words with 语

汉语Hànyǔ · Mandarin (Han language)外语wàiyǔ · foreign language词语cíyǔ · words and expressions语法yǔfǎ · grammar语言yǔyán · language语气yǔqì · tone母语mǔyǔ · mother tongue谜语míyǔ · riddle

More words: Education & Learning

本科běnkē · undergraduate course标点biāodiǎn · punctuation测验cèyàn · test常识chángshí · common sense词汇cíhuì · vocabulary地理dìlǐ · geography辅导fǔdǎo · to give guidance化学huàxué · chemistry

FAQs

成语 (chéngyǔ) means “idiom” or “four-character set expression”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it chéngyǔ: chéng with a 2nd tone, then yǔ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 成语 is written 成語. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 条 (tiáo) or 本 (běn). For example, one idiom is 一条成语 (yì tiáo chéngyǔ).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type chengyu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 成语 from the suggestions. Typing chengyu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
成语 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.