50 Chengyu

Front 1

半途而废

Back 1

bàn tú ér fèi

Give up halfway.

Hint 1

半 bàn - half
途 tú - way or road (路途 lù tú)而 ér - conjunction meaning "but"
废 fèi - abandon (废弃 fèi qì)

Literally: Half road but abandon

Front 2

半真半假

Back 2

bàn zhēn bàn jiă

Half real, half fake

Hint 2

半 bàn - half
真 zhēn - real (真实 zhēn shí)
半 bàn - half
假 jiă - false (假币 jiă bì)

Literally: Half real, half false

Front 3

笨鸟先飞

Back 3

bèn niăo xiān fēi

Dumb birds must start flying early

Hint 3

笨 bèn - dumb or clumsy
鸟 niăo - bird
先 xiān - first or earlier
飞 fēi - to fly

Literally: Dumb bird first to fly

Front 4

擦肩而过

Back 4

cā jiān ér guò

Missed encounter

Hint 4

攃 cā - brush, rub up against
肩 jiān - shoulder (肩膀 jiān băng)而 ér - conjunction meaning "but"
过 guò - to pass by (过去 guò qù)

Literally: to brush shoulders but pass by

Front 5

粗心大意

Back 5

cū xīn dà yì

Negligent and careless

Hint 5

粗 cū - negligent or rough (粗糙 cū cāo)
心 xīn - heart
大 dà - big, means general or approximate here (大概 dà gài)意 yì - meaning, means attention or focus here (注意力 zhù yì lì)

Literally: negligent (or rough) heart large focus

Front 6

得寸进尺

Back 6

dé cùn jìn chî

Give an inch and take a yard

Hint 6

得 dé - get our acquire (得到 dé dào)
寸 cùn - Chinese unit of length about 3cm
进 jìn - advance (前进 qián jìn)
尺 chî - Chinese unit of length about 1/3 meter

Literally: get 3cm and advance 1/3 meter

Front 7

对号入座

Back 7

duì hào rù zuò

Assume you're being criticized

Hint 7

对 duì - to check (对表 - duì biǎo)
号 hào - number
入 rù - to enter(进入 - jìn rù)
座 zuò -seat (座位 - zuò wèi)

Literally: Check your number, take your seat

Front 8

对牛弹琴

Back 8

duì niú tán qín

Preaching to deaf ears

Hint 8

对 duì - at or to

牛 niú - cow

弹 tán - to play

琴 qín - a stringed instrument

Literally: Playing a lute for a cow

Front 9

多此一举

Back 9

duō cǐ yī jǔ

Unnecessary move

Hint 9

多 duō - many or excessive (多余 - duōyú)
此 cǐ - this (此事 - cǐ shì)一 yī - one
举 jǔ - an act or action (举动 - jǔdòng)

Literally: This action is unnecessary

Front 10

刮目相看

Back 10

guā mù xiāng kàn

To see someone in a new light

Hint 10

刮 guā - to wipe
目 mù - eyes (目光 - mù guāng)相 xiāng - indicates action is beingperformed by one towards another
看 kàn - generally means “to see,” here itspecifically means “to regard” (看待 - kàn dài)

Literally: wipe eyes and take a good look

Front 11

浩浩荡荡

Back 11

hào hào dàng dàng

A mighty scene

Hint 11

浩浩 hàohào - a mighty flow of water

荡荡 dàngdàng - vast

Literally: great great wave wave; both are related to water

Front 12

合情合理

Back 12

hé qíng hé lǐ

Fair and equitable

Hint 12

合 hé - to be in accord with (合乎 - hé hū)
情 qíng - feelings and emotion (感情 - gǎnqíng)
理 lǐ - reason, rationality (理智 - lǐ zhì)

Literally: With feelings with reason

Front 13

轰轰烈烈

Back 13

hōng hōng liè liè

On a grand scale

Hint 13

轰 轰 hōng hōng - a loud noise, boom!
烈烈 liè liè - strong, intense (强烈 - qiáng liè)

Literally: boom boom strong strong

Front 14

虎头蛇尾

Back 14

hǔ tóu shé wěi

Strong start, weak finish

Hint 14

虎 hǔ - tiger
头 tóu - head
蛇 shé - snake
尾 wěi - tail

Literally: Have a tiger's head, but a snake's tail

Front 15

花言巧语

Back 15

huā yán qiǎo yǔ

Deceitful smooth talk

Hint 15

花 huā - flower
言 yán - speech or words ( 语言 - yǔ yán)
巧 qiǎo - cunning
语 yǔ - language (外语 - wài yǔ)

Literally: Flowery words are cunning language

Front 16

豁然开朗

Back 16

huò rán kāi lǎng

An ‘A-Ha!' moment

Hint 16

豁 huò - spacious
然 rán - such that, so
开 kāi - open, broad (开阔 - kāikuò)

朗 lǎng - bright

Literally: Spacious, open and bright