Updated on September 25, 2020
Welcome to Lesson 1 (Level 3) of Mandarin Chinese free online lessons. In this lesson, let’s learn some of the famous Chinese idioms/proverbs (成语, Chéngyǔ).
Chinese Idiom 1
好事多磨 (hǎo shì duō mó)
Meanings:
- A good gain takes long pain
- The road to success/happiness is strewn with setbacks
Essentially, this proverb tells us NOT to give up when we are chasing our dreams.
Idiom 1, Vocabulary A
- Good (好, hǎo)
- Matter (事, shì)
- Many/much (多, duō)
- Setback/difficulty (磨, mó)
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Idiom 1, Example Sentence 1
- He finally got a proper job after taking interviews for more than 30 times.
- Tā cānjiā le sānshí duō cì miànshì, zhōngyú zhǎodào le héshì de gōngzuò, zhēn shì hǎo shì duō mó.
- 他参加了三十多次面试, 终于 找到了合适的工作, 真是好事多磨
Idiom 1, Vocabulary B
- To attend/to participate (参加, cānjiā)
- Time (次, cì)
- Interview (面试, miànshì)
- Eventually (终于, zhōngyú)
- To find (找到, zhǎodào)
- Suitable (合适的, héshìde)
Idiom 1, Example Sentence 2
- Difficulties and setbacks will continue.
- Hǎo shì duō mó, kùnnan hé bōzhé haí huì yǒu.
- 好事多磨, 困难和波折还会有
Idiom 1, Vocabulary C
- Setback (波折, bōzhé)
- Still (还, haí )
Chinese Idiom Example 2
天壤之别 (tiānrǎngzhībié)
Meanings:
- As far apart as heaven and earth
- A world of difference
- An immeasurably vast difference
Idiom 2, Vocabulary D
- Sky/heaven (天, tiān)
- Earth/ground (壤, rang)
- Of (之, zhī)
- Difference (别, bié)
Idiom 2, Example Sentence 3
- The two styles couldn’t be more different.
- Zhè liǎng zhǒng fēnggé yǒuzhe tiān rǎng zhī bié.
- 这两种风格有着天壤之别。
Idiom 2, Vocabulary E
- Type/kind (种, zhǒng)
- Style (fēnggé, 风格)
- To have/there be (yǒu, 有)
Idiom 2, Example Sentence 4
- There’s a world of difference between liking someone and loving someone.
- Xǐhuan yí ge rén hé ài yí ge rén yǒu tiān rang zhī bié.
- 喜欢一个人和爱一个人 有 天壤之别。
Idiom 2, Vocabulary F
- To like (喜欢, xǐhuan)
- To love (爱, ài)
I hope you enjoyed learning these two famous Chinese proverbs. Let me know your feedbacks. 🙂