Chinese idioms about foolishness
Sayings that show the pitfalls of foolishness.
妄自尊大
absurd self respect great
Having an inflated opinion of oneself
Full of inflated pride. There are many examples throughout history of people thinking rather too highly of themselves.
Pride cometh before a fall
邯郸学步 [邯鄲學步]
Handan study gait
Trying too hard to impress
Learning how the residents of Handan walk ➚. The story is of a man back in the Warring States period who took on the gait of grand city folk trying to impress but could no longer walk properly. Pompous and pretentious.
Make an ass of yourself
刻舟求剑 [刻舟求劍]
notch boat seek sword
Marking the boat to locate a sunken sword
A venture made pointless by changing circumstances. The story is of a man who accidentally dropped a sword in the lake while being ferried across it. He reasoned that if he made a notch in the side of the boat that would let him find the sword again,
Wild goose chase
赔了夫人又折兵 [賠了夫人又折兵]
Lose lady also lose soldiers
Losing the lady and the soldiers
Hatching an evil plot that backfires spectacularly. The story is that Sun Quan in the Three Kingdoms period wanted to take territory from the Shu kingdom. He offered his sister's hand in marriage but secretly plotted to attack Liu Bei's troops at the ceremony. Master strategist Zhuge Liang saw through the trap and Liu Bei managed to marry Sun's sister as well as defeat Sun's troops.
焚林而畋,竭泽而渔 [焚林而畋竭澤而漁]
burn forest but cultivate, exhaust pool but fishing
Burn a forest to farm; drain a pond to fish
Ignoring the consequences
Marry in haste, repent at leisure
鼠目寸光
mouse eye inch bright
A mouse's vision is only one inch long
Looking ahead for only a short time. Only planning for the immediate future
羊质虎皮 [羊質虎皮]
goat character tiger skin
A goat in a tiger's skin
Someone not living up to outward appearance. Looking fierce but actually timid.
All that glisters is not gold
换汤不换药 [換湯不換葯]
change hot water no change medicine
Change the soup but not the medicine
Not getting to the root of a problem, making superficial changes
Rearranging the deckchairs while the ship is sinking
缘木求鱼 [緣木求魚]
cause tree seek fish
To catch fish in a tree
To look at a tree hoping it will somehow catch fish. Waste time doing something pointless and bound to fail. The tale goes back 2,300 years to the life of Mengciuswho advised the King of Qi against pointless further conquests.
To carry water in a sieve
守株待兔
guard trunk wait for hare
Watching a tree waiting for rabbits
Do not just count on luck, need action to reach your goals
Nothing ventured nothing gained
趾高气扬 [趾高氣揚]
toe high energy raise
Putting on airs and graces
An arrogant person who may well face a comeuppance due to complacency and self-conceit.
Pride cometh before a fall
空中楼阁 [空中樓閣]
sky middle storied pavilion
A pavilion in the air
A fanciful and impossible scheme. An impractical idea with a streak of vanity.
A flight of fancy
削足适履
trim foot fit shoe
Reshape feet to fit new shoes
Take the wrong decision. Apply an inappropriate solution
两败俱伤 [兩敗俱傷]
both damage entirely injure
Both sides will suffer
Heading towards a Pyrric victory - neither side wins. A conflict neither side can win.
Mutually assured destruction
隔靴搔痒
separate boot scratch itch
Scratching an itch from outside of the shoe
An ineffective solution to a problem
以郑为壑 [以鄭爲壑]
use Zheng as gully
Building a drain onto neighbor?s land
Diverting flood water onto neighbor's land - moving a problem onto others rather than try to solve it. Acting selfishly.
Look out for number one
谈虎色变 [談虎色變]
chat tiger look transform
Turning pale at the mere mention of a tiger
To be so timid that even mentioning danger causes fear.
Afraid of your own shadow
对牛弹琴 [對牛彈琴]
face ox play musical qin
To play a lute to a cow
Wasting your time on pointless efforts. The 'lute' in this case is the qin, a traditional musical instrument. To address an inappropriate and unappreciative audience. A story from the Han dynasty when Mouzi Lihuolun, a Confucian scholar, who failed to describe Buddhist teaching because his audience had no basic understanding of it
Pearls before swine
口是心非
mouth OK feeling wrong
Say yes when mean no
To say the opposite of what you really think
种瓜得瓜种豆得豆 [種瓜得瓜種豆得豆]
plant melon get melon, plant beans get beans
Plant melons and you will harvest melons; plant beans and you will harvest beans
Live with the consequences of your actions
Reap what you sow
事实胜于雄辩 [事實勝于雄辯]
affair real victory goto mighty debate
A real victory is better than a great debate
Better to act than just talk about it
Actions speak louder than words
无源之水,无本之木 [無源之水無本之木]
no source water, no root tree
A river without a source, a tree without roots
Something without a proper foundation. Not properly planned
避坑落井
evade pit drop well
Avoid falling into a pit to fall into a well
Avoid one obstacle only to hit another
亡羊补牢 [亡羊補牢]
lose sheep mend pen
Mend the pen after the sheep are lost
Can mean taking action too late or else taking action to protect against a future repeat of misfortune
Mending the stable door after the horse has bolted
与狐谋皮 [與狐謀皮]
with fox seek skin
Asking a fox for its skin
Make an unrealistic request of someone who is bound to refuse. A pointless request requiring someone to act against their normal character
The leopard does not change his spots
州官放火
prefecture to be set on fire
The magistrate burns down the town
Bewailing pompous and incompetent officials. The story is that an official refused that his name 'Deng' should be used in any official proclamation. A problem arose when the Lantern or 'Deng' festival was to be announced. Instead of 'Deng' he used the character for Fire instead announcing the coming of Fire throughout the town
Couldn't organize a piss-up in a brewey
金玉其外，败絮其中 [金玉其外，敗絮其中]
gold jade outside withered cotton wadding middle
Precious on the outside but shabby on the inside
Don't be fooled by outward appearances
Beauty is only skin deep
一犬吠影,白犬吠声 [一犬吠影白犬吠聲]
one dog bark shadow, one hundred dog bark noise
One dog snarls at a shadow; a hundred howl at each other's barking
Blindly follow a trend without even knowing its origin
养虎遗患 [養虎遺患]
raise tiger bequeath misfortune
Helping a tiger invites misfortune
Being too softhearted with an enemy who is bound at some time later to bite the hand that fed it.
Rearing a nest of vipers
驴唇不对马嘴 [馿唇不對馬嘴]
donkey lips no match horse mouth
Donkey's lips do not fit a horse's mouth
Something that is out of place and inappropriate
打草惊蛇 [打草驚蛇]
strike grass startled snake
Striking the grass alerts the snake
It is unwise to alert an enemy of your presence
Let sleeping dogs lie
坐井观天 [坐井觀天]
sit well watch sky
To sit at the bottom of a well and view the sky
A blinkered or limited view of the world
掩耳盗铃 [掩耳盜鈴]
conceal ear steal bell
Covering your ears while stealing the bell
Failing to think things through. Taking a rash action without applying logic. A foolish plan
Stupid is as stupid does
望梅止渴
gaze plum stop thirst
Gaze at a plum to quench thirst
Offering hope by thinking of something currently out of reach
抱薪救火
hold firewood rescue fire
Using wood to put out a fire
Not choosing an appropriate solution to a problem. Making matters worse
井底之蛙
well bottom's frog
A blinkered approach to life. Living in a fantasy world.
A frog in a well. The story is of a frog that only knows of the water in the well and knew nothing of the sea, and can only see a small portion of the sky.
Little knowledge is a dangerous thing
破釜沉舟
broken pot sink boat
Smash the pots and sink the boats
A story ➚ at the fall of the Qin dynasty 207BCE tells of the general Xiang Yu who refused to accept possibility of retreat at the battle of Julu by burning the boats and smashing the cooking pots. So it means no going back whatever happens. Cutting off all possibility of retreat
Burning your boats
请君入瓮 [請君入甕]
invite lord enter vat
Please step into the vat
To fall victim to a punishment that you yourself devised. The story is from the reign of Empress Wuzetian when two cruel ministers vied to create the vilest tortures. Zhou Ying suggested a large vat should be heated and the victim placed in it. His fellow minister threatened to apply the torture on Zhou Ying himself. He then confessed to all his crimes.
To give someone a taste of their own medicine
One of a pair of six-section folding screens painted in Chinese Southern School style. This screen depicts the Yueyang Tower at Dongting Lake in which literati hold a gathering. c. 1750. Tokyo National Museum.
Image by Emuseum ➚ available under a Creative Commons license ➚
以卵击石 [以卵擊石]
use egg strike stone
Try to smash a stone with an egg
Overrating strength and being defeated. Defeat guaranteed.
Kicking a brick wall
徙宅忘妻
change residence forget wife
Move house but overlook wife
Foolish and forgetful. Move to a new house and take everything - except your partner.
Soft in the head
临渴掘井 [臨渴掘井]
approach thirsty dig well
Digging a well only when starting to feel thirsty
Begin taking action when it is far too late.
Failing to plan is planning to fail
肉包子打狗
meat wrap child hit dog
Hitting a dog with a meat bun
To use a self defeating method to solve a problem
自相矛盾
self mutual spear shield
Hit your shield with your own spear
To speak in contradictions. The story ➚ is about the man who said he had a spear that could pierce anything in the world, but also a shield that was impenetrable to any spear. Both claims could not be true
凤毛麟角 [鳳毛麟角]
phoenix hair unicorn horn
As rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns
Seeking the unobtainable
朝三暮四
morning three evening four
Say three in the morning, four in the evening
Indecisive saying one thing and then changing mind later and saying another. The story is of a monkey trainer who reduced their chestnut rations from 3 in the morning and 4 in the evenings. The monkeys were most unhappy but when the trainer changed it to 4 in the morning and 3 in the evenings they were delighted. And so the phrase can also mean being foolishly deceived.
Hemming and hahing
虾兵蟹将 [蝦兵蟹將]
shrimp soldier crab general
Shrimp soldiers led by a crab general. An ineffective army
A laughably ineffective solution to a problem
多行不义必自毙 [多行不義必自斃]
much series not justice must self destroy
Persisting in evil leads to self-destruction
Turning to bad deeds will ultimately bring ruin. This is a form of Karma - divine justice which catch up with you one day
纸上谈兵 [帋上談兵]
paper on chat weapon
Fighting war on paper
An armchair general. Making plans without knowledge of the actualité
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
画蛇添足 [畫蛇添足]
draw snake add foot
Drawing a foot on a snake
Ruin by over working something. Add superfluous detail. Too meticulous
Gilding the lily
也要马儿好,也要马儿不吃草 [也要馬兒好也要馬兒不吃草]
also want horse good, also want horse not eat grass
Want the horse to prosper, but not want the horse to eat grass
To prosper you must make compromises, you can not have it all your own way
You can't have your cake and eat it
飞蛾投火 [飛蛾投火]
fly moth hurl fire
A moth throws itself into a flame
Heading for self destruction
Like a moth to a flame
作法自毙 [作法自斃]
compose law self harm
Making laws that harm yourself
To fall foul of rules of your own making.
九牛一毛
nine ox one hair
Nine cows are missing just one hair
An insignificant amount. A trivial matter
A drop in the ocean
东施效颦 [東施效顰]
Dong Shi imitate knit eyebrows
Ludicrous self conceit
The story is of Dong Shi, an ugly person imitating the posture of famous beautiful woman Xi Shi ➚ by knitting his eyebrows
Mutton dressed as lamb
殃及池鱼 [殃及池魚]
calamity reach pond fish
Calamity has spread to the fish in the pond
Suffering collateral damage. Draining a fish pond to search for some treasure would kill off all the fish as a consequence. An action that creates unintended victims.
Cannon fodder
雷声大,雨点小 [雷聲大雨點小]
thunder sound big, rain drop small
Thunder is loud but little rain falls
Overly portentous. Reality does not match expectations
Empty vessels make the most noise
画饼充饥 [畫餅充飢]
draw biscuit fill hunger
Drawing a biscuit to satisfy hunger
To act foolishly and ineffectively. Wasting time on fruitless projects
Soft in the head
A Chinese kite in flight above Portsdown Hill, Portsmouth, UK. Image by Tholly ➚ available under a Creative Commons license ➚
虎口拔牙
tiger mouth pull up tooth
To extract a tooth from a tiger's mouth
To be very daring and/or to take unnecessary risks
饮鸠止渴 [㱃鳩止渴]
drink turtledove stop thirst
To quench one's thirst with poisoned wine. The blood of the dove was considered poisonous
To take reckless action regardless of the consequences
Don't cut off your nose to spite your face
食言而肥
eat words and so fat
Getting fat by eating one?s words
Someone is forever retracting what was previously said. Someone with poor judgment and a big mouth. The story is of a minister Meng Wubo of the kingdom of Lu who often pontificated only to contradict himself. A snide commentator suggested that Meng was growing fat because he ate so many of his own words.
Shoot your mouth off
生吞活剥 [生吞活剝]
raw swallow alive skin
Swallowing it all
To unthinkingly take on board someone's opinion. Uncritical application. Copying someone else's actions. The story is of Zhang Huaiqing of the Tang dynasty who plagiarized other poet's work by mechanically adding a few characters here and there. The resultant poems were gibberish.
Monkey see: monkey do
骑驴找驴 [騎馿找馿]
ride donkey look for donkey
Looking for a donkey while sitting on its back
Ignoring the obvious. Absent mindedness
Not looking beyond your nose
杯弓蛇影
cup bow snake image
Seeing a bow?s reflection in a cup as a snake
Suspicious and frightened; plagued by fearful imagination. The story is of a man who was terrified by the sight of what he thought was a snake swimming in the cup of tea he was drinking. The experience made him ill and only when it was demonstrated that it was just the reflection of a bow left hanging on the wall did he recover.
Afraid of your own shadow
夏虫疑冰 [夏蟲疑冰]
summer insect doubt ice
The summer insect doubts the existence of ice
An ignorant person doesn't understand the wider truth
杯水车薪 [杯水車薪]
cup water vehicle firewood
A glass of water won't put out a car on fire
Not putting in enough effort to solve a problem
干活不由东累死也无功 [干活不由東累死也無功]
do live no reason master pile up die also no merit
Working without obeying the boss will bring only hard work and no merit
Only work on what is needed to be done
死马当活马医 [死馬噹活馬醫]
die horse equal live horse doctor
Treating a dead horse as if it is still alive
Persevering when it is already too late. A lost cause
Flogging a dead horse
牛鼎烹鸡 [牛鼎烹雞]
ox cauldron boil chicken
Cooking a chicken in a pot designed for an ox
An in appropriate tool or scale of preparation for a job. Also refers to when a person of great skill is given a menial job
大手大脚 [大手大腳]
big hand big foot
Large hands and feet
Lavish and grandiose expenditure on tasteless trifles
A fool and his money are soon parted
漏洞百出
leak hole hundred get out
Leaking through one hundred holes
Full of mistakes and errors
看风使舵 [看風使舵]
look wind steer rudder
Steer the boat wherever the winds lead
Not sticking to the big plan. A fickle mind
有目共睹
has eye common observe
Seen by everyone. There for all to see
Obvious to everybody
Plain for all to see
割肉自啖
cut flesh oneself eat
Eating one's own flesh
A foolish, self defeating stratagem.
Cutting off your nose to spite your face
想入非非
want enter wrong wrong
Indulge in fantasy
Let imagination run wild
Head in the clouds
招愮过市 [招愮過市]
provoke agitation cross market
Parading through the busy streets
Boastful behavior; to be puffed up with pride . Walking the streets seeking the adulation of the crowds.
Pride comes before a fall
闻风丧胆 [聞風喪膽]
hear news lose courage
Panic on hearing news
Panic stricken; terrified by news
The Garden of the Chinese Zodiac features twelve carved animals in the gardens of Kowloon Walled City Park, Hong Kong
一窍不通 [一竅不通]
all orifice not linked up
All parts of the body are not working together
Incoherent action, not making any sense
言过其实 [言過其實]
words excessively that's true
To embellish the facts
Overstate the facts or exaggerate skills. Someone who is a bit of a windbag.
各自为政 [各自為政]
each person act as government
Each following his own policy
Acting selfishly. Following own plans and ideas with no regard for others.
味如鸡肋 [味如雞肋]
taste as if chicken rib
As tasteless as chicken ribs
A humdrum, boring activity and by extension a person lacking character. Insipid, bland.
仰人鼻息
rely on person nose breath
Depend on someone, even for breathe
To be totally dependent on others, as if unable to breathe without their help. Showing great weakness.
Wet fish
齐人擢金 [齊人擢金]
Qi man grab gold
The gold grabber from Qi
Blinded by lust for gain. Greed. Avarice. Blinded by ambition. The story if of a man from the kingdom of Qi who seeing gold just grabbed it and ran off, oblivious of the consequences.
Blind ambition
小题大作 [小題大作]
small topic large work
To talk a lot about very little
Procrastination and exaggeration
Make a mountain out of a molehill
倒绷孩儿 [倒繃孩兒]
invert bind child
Wrap up a baby upside down
Accidentally wrapping a new-born baby the wrong way round. Said of someone who though skilled can sometimes make mistakes. An occasional error out of character.
前怕狼后怕虎
before fear wolf behind fear tiger
To fear wolves ahead and tigers behind
To be obsessed by fears of attack from all sides
煽风点火 [煽風點火]
incite wind spot fire
Create wind and fire
Create a lot of trouble
郑人买履 [鄭人買履]
Zheng person buy shoe
The man from Zheng buys shoes
Stubbornly sticking to a silly plan; inflexible and stupid. The story is of a man from Zheng who measured his own feet in readiness to buying new shoes. When he reached the shop in a distant town he found he had forgotten the paper on which the measurement was recorded. So he walked all the way home to fetch it rather than just try on shoes in the shop.
Stupid is as stupid does
眼泪救不了火 [眼淚救不了火]
tears rescued not fire
Tears do not put out the fire
Decisive action is needed in a crisis not regrets
舍本逐末 [捨本逐末]
abandon foundation pursue end
Pursuing trivia while neglecting essentials
Concentrating on the little details rather than the important stuff
Putting the cart before the horse
狗尾续貂 [狗尾續貂]
dog tail to replace sable
Use a dog?s tail to replace a sable
A poor substitute for the original. Said of poor follow-up to promising earlier work. The story is of a usurper to the Jin dynasty throne who gave honors and titles to his whole family and household. There was insufficient sable tails to make the formal robes for all these people so dog tails were used instead.
Our proverbs come with full information. The modern Chinese characters are given first with links that give information on the character. If the phrase uses traditional characters these are shown in brackets and gray text. As proverbs are so old you will often see them written in the old form. The characters are followed by the proverb (Chengyu) in pinyin. Next, there is a crude character by character transliteration into English, followed by a more accurate English translation. If this is a Chinese proverb alluding to history the meaning may still not be clear in English, so the general meaning follows. Finally some proverbs have fairly direct English equivalents, if so the English proverb is included at the end.
Our translations are in need of improvement, so please let us know your ideas. For background on the types and history of proverbs please see our guide.
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