Chinese grammar - Twenty commonly used Chinese idioms

Twenty commonly used Chinese idioms

Here are 20 commonly used Chinese idioms.

Their literal meanings are included in each example's note.

Examples:
	马到成功 mǎ dào chéng gōng Immediate success Literally: Success upon arrival of the horse 成 (chéng) means 'to succeed' 功 (gōng) means 'achievement'
	画蛇添足 huà shé tiān zú Ruin the effect by adding something superfluous Literally: Draw legs on a snake 足 (zú) means 'foot'
	自相矛盾 zì xiāng máo dùn Self-contradictory Literally: Self-contradiction 相 (xiāng) means 'mutual' 矛 (máo) means 'spear' 盾 (dùn) means 'shield'
	百闻不如一见 bǎi wén bù rú yí jiàn Seeing is believing Literally: Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once 闻 (wén) means 'to hear' 如 (rú) means 'like'
	井底之蛙 jǐng dǐ zhī wā A frog in a well (limited perspective) Literally: A frog in a well 井 (jǐng) means 'well' 底 (dǐ) means 'bottom' 之 (zhī) means 'of' 蛙 (wā) means 'frog'
	对牛弹琴 duì niú tán qín To cast pearls before swine Literally: Play the lute to a cow 琴 (qín) means 'lute'
	入乡随俗 rù xiāng suí sú When in Rome, do as the Romans do Literally: When in a village, follow the customs 入 (rù) means 'to enter' 乡 (xiāng) means 'village' 随 (suí) means 'to follow' 俗 (sú) means 'custom'
	一箭双雕 yí jiàn shuāng diāo Kill two birds with one stone Literally: One arrow, two eagles 箭 (jiàn) means 'arrow' 双 (shuāng) means 'double' 雕 (diāo) means 'eagle'
	四海为家 sì hǎi wéi jiā To feel at home anywhere Literally: The four seas as home 海 (hǎi) means 'sea'
	雪中送炭 xuě zhōng sòng tàn Timely assistance Literally: Send charcoal in the snow 雪 (xuě) means 'snow' 炭 (tàn) means 'charcoal'
	狼狈为奸 láng bèi wéi jiān Partners in crime Literally: The wolf and the jackal work together 狼 (láng) means 'wolf' 狈 (bèi) means 'jackal' 奸 (jiān) means 'evil'
	亡羊补牢 wáng yáng bǔ láo Better late than never Literally: Fix the pen after losing the sheep 亡 (wáng) means 'to lose' 羊 (yáng) means 'sheep' 补 (bǔ) means 'to mend' 牢 (láo) means 'pen (for animals)'
	心想事成 xīn xiǎng shì chéng May all your wishes come true Literally: What one wishes is what one gets 心 (xīn) means 'heart'
	水落石出 shuǐ luò shí chū The truth comes to light Literally: When the water subsides, the rocks emerge 落 (luò) means 'to fall' 石 (shí) means 'stone'
	举一反三 jǔ yī fǎn sān Draw inferences about other cases from one instance Literally: Raise one and infer three 举 (jǔ) means 'to raise' 反 (fǎn) means 'to infer'
	塞翁失马 sài wēng shī mǎ A blessing in disguise Literally: The old man at the frontier lost his horse 塞 (sāi) means 'frontier' 翁 (wēng) means 'old man' 失 (shī) means 'to lose'
	名落孙山 míng luò sūn shān Fail in a competitive examination Literally: Name falls behind Sun Shan 名 (míng) means 'name' 孙 (sūn) means 'Sun (a Chinese surname)'
	破釜沉舟 pò fǔ chén zhōu Burn one's boats Literally: Break the cauldrons and sink the boats 釜 (fǔ) means 'cauldron' 沉 (chén) means 'to sink' 舟 (zhōu) means 'boat'
	万事俱备，只欠东风 wàn shì jù bèi,#zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng All is ready except for what is crucial Literally: All is ready except for the east wind 俱 (jù) means 'all' 备 (bèi) means 'prepared' 欠 (qiàn) means 'to lack' 东 (dōng) means 'east'
	见怪不怪 jiàn guài bú guài Keep calm in the face of the unexpected Literally: See strange things and not be surprised 怪 (guài) means 'strange'