| Entry | Pinyin | Meaning | English Equivalent | Story? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鸦雀无声 | yá què wú shēng |
Refers to absolute silence |
None |
No |
| 掩耳盗铃 | yǎn ěr dào líng |
To deceive oneself and others; to aim to conceal something that cannot be concealed |
None |
Yes |
| 眼高手低 | yǎn gāo shǒu dī |
Refers to when one has high standards but lacks the ability to reach them |
None |
No |
| 叶公好龙 | yè gōng hào lóng |
To pretend to like something despite not actually liking it |
None |
Yes |
| 夜郎自大 | yè láng zì dà |
To have too high an opinion of oneself; to be highly arrogant |
None |
Yes |
| 一帆风顺 | yī fān fēng shùn |
Indicates that something happens very smoothly or without even the tiniest setback |
Smooth sailing |
No |
| 一饭千金 | yī fàn qiān jīn |
A generous reward given in return for receiving one's assistance or favor |
None |
Yes |
| 一鼓作气 | yī gǔ zuò qì |
To go all out; to do one's best; to get something finished with a single effort |
None |
Yes |
| 一箭双雕 | yī jiàn shuāng diāo |
To achieve two things despite taking only a single action |
To kill two birds with one stone |
Yes |
| 一见钟情 | yī jiàn zhōng qíng |
Love at first sight |
Love at first sight |
No |
| 一举两得 | yī jǔ liǎng dé |
To achieve two goals with a single action |
To kill two birds with one stone |
Yes |
| 一门心思 | yī mén xīn sī |
Used when someone is bent on/wholeheartedly focused on/single-mindedly doing something |
None |
No |
| 一鸣惊人 | yī míng jīng rén |
This is used when a person generally does not appear to do anything impressive/be out of the ordinary, but then astounds others by accomplishing a great feat |
None |
Yes |
| 一模一样 | yī mó yī yàng |
To be exactly alike |
None |
No |
| 一目了然 | yī mù liǎo rán |
Obvious at a glance |
None |
No |
| 一诺千金 | yī nuò qiān jīn |
To make good on a promise; to stay true to one's word; to have one's word be honest and reliable |
True to one's word |
Yes |
| 一窍不通 | yī qiào bù tōng |
To not understand a single thing that's going on; to be exceptionally ignorant. Often used to ridicule others' foolishness or stupidity. |
None |
Yes |
| 一如既往 | yī rú jì wǎng |
As usual; as always; as before; as ever |
None |
No |
| 一丝不苟 | yī sī bù gǒu |
This is used to describe that someone does something very carefully and meticulously |
None |
No |
| 一言九鼎 | yī yán jiǔ dǐng |
Refers to words that are influential or play a decisive role in something |
None |
Yes |
| 一叶障目 | yī yè zhàng mù |
To be unable to see the true origin of the problem or the situation as a whole because a part of the problem is particularly perplexing |
To be unable to see the forest for the trees |
Yes |
| 一衣带水 | yī yī dài shuǐ |
Indicates that places or people are separated only by water; indicates that the interactions between people and goods are frequent and unaffected by small distance between them |
None |
Yes |
| 一针见血 | yī zhèn jiàn xiě |
To pierce to the heart of a matter with a single concise comment |
To hit the nail on the head |
No |
| 一字之师 | yī zì zhī shī |
Often used to refer to someone who excels at correcting or improving written works |
None |
Yes |
| 饮鸩止渴 | yǐn zhèn zhǐ kě |
To use destructive methods to get oneself out of a current difficulty without caring about that method's consequences |
None |
Yes |