By Eloise (Y12)
Chengyu are traditional idiomatic Chinese expressions and consist of four characters. There are approximately 5000 official Chengyu, but some dictionaries include over 20 000. The idioms mainly originate from ancient stories and history and, similar to English idioms they are impossible to understand, unless you are aware of the context. Here, I have decided to decode a few of my favourite; giving a literal translation and an explanation of their meaning.
对牛弹琴
Literal translation: To play the lute to a cow
Explanation: To address the wrong audience
画蛇添足
Literal translation: To draw a snake and add feet to it
Explanation: To ruin the effect by adding something superfluous
亡羊补牢
Literal translation: To mend the pen after the sheep are lost
Explanation: To lock the stable door after the horse has bolted
青出于蓝
Literal translation: green is born of blue
Meaning: the student surpasses the teacher
一箭双雕
Literal meaning: To shoot two hawks with one arrow
Meaning: To kill two birds with one stone
盲人摸象
Literal translation: Blind people touch an elephant
Explanation: To mistake the part for the whole
覆水难收
Literal translation: Spilt water is difficult to retrieve
Explanation: Things done cannot be undone
守株待兔
Literal translation: To stand by a tree stump waiting for a hare Explanation: To trust chance, rather than show initiative