In your language learning journey, chances are you will one day encounter a combination of words that seem to make no sense based on their individual translations. In Chinese, it is likely you were dealing with a \u6210\u8bed Ch\u00e9ngy\u01d4, often translated as an idiom. \u6210\u8bed also include proverbs and sayings\u2014these expressions are often grammatically incorrect and cannot be translated into another language without losing their meaning. In different languages some idioms have the same meaning, for example: \u201cto kill two birds with one stone\u201d relates to the Chinese saying \u201c\u4e00 \u77f3 \u4e8c \u9e1f\u201d Y\u012bsh\u00ed\u2019\u00e8rni\u01ceo, directly translated as one stone, two bird.<\/p>\n
Chinese \u6210\u8bed, as seen above, often consists of four characters that together form a symbolic meaning. This meaning is often derived from myths, stories, and poetry, especially from ancient literature, meaning idioms to carry a piece of historical and cultural value. In total there are more than 5000 \u6210\u8bed, of which about 1000 are used in daily life. The \u6210\u8bed often convey the main morals of these ancient stories, for example, they can help you to make a decision and to deal with challenges and changes in life. But be careful! Using idioms correctly can be one of the most difficult parts of learning a foreign language.<\/p>\n
The following \u6210\u8bed is easy to understand due to its literal meaning: \u5165\u4e61\u968f\u4fd7<\/p>\n
\u5165 r\u00f9, go into; to enter, \u4e61 xi\u0101ng, village, \u968f su\u00ed, to follow, \u4fd7 s\u00fa, customs<\/p>\n
This idiom indicates that when entering a village\/town you have to adapt to local customs, often translated to the English phrase \u201cwhen in Rome do as the Romans do.\u201d But most idioms are much more difficult to understand due to their figurative meaning. The stories behind these Chinese expressions are an interesting and fun way to learn more about the origin of the \u6210\u8bed!<\/p>\n
For the Dutch Embassy\u2019s celebration of the 2021 Chinese New Year, Confucius Institute Maastricht composed a song about the honored scholar \u725b\u89d2. The song consists of 12 idioms with the word Niu \u2013 ox\/cow\/buffalo as 2021 is the year of the Ox. In total, there are about 139 idioms with the character Niu or related to oxen. The idioms in this song speak to the appreciation you get for being a hardworking and eager to learn person\/student aka a \u725b\u89d2 \u4e66\u751f.<\/p>\n
\u725b ni\u00fa, ox, \u89d2 jiao, horn, and \u4e66\u751f sh\u016bsh\u0113ng, scholar; student<\/p>\n
\u725b\u89d2 \u4e66\u751f literally means horned scholar, but like many idioms, the figurative meaning is more complex. The story behind this idiom dates back to the Tang Dynasty. Young Li Mi was on his way to Fengshan riding on the back of an ox. He was so diligent that he hung his books on the horns of the ox, allowing him to travel and learn at the same time! From that day, people called him the horned scholar. This term is now used to refer to eager-to-learn students \u725b\u89d2 \u4e66\u751f.<\/p>\n