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Idiomatic Phrases

Q: Why do Chinese idioms (成语 chéngyǔ) pose a unique challenge that Spanish and English idioms do not?

Chinese 成 chéng 语 yǔ are almost always exactly four characters, drawing on classical literature and historical events: 一 yī 箭 jiàn 双 shuāng 雕 diāo (one arrow, two eagles — from a Tang dynasty story). Their meaning is opaque without cultural knowledge. Spanish and English idioms are typically transparent phrases ('raining cats and dogs,' *llueve a cántaros*) whose imagery is accessible even to learners. A Chinese speaker learning Spanish or English can often guess an idiom's meaning from context, but a foreigner encountering 成 chéng 语 yǔ cannot guess without studying the source text.

Common idiomatic expressions that don't translate literally across Spanish, English and Chinese.

Compare languages

Every language has idioms that must be learned as whole units. Literal translation usually fails. Chinese idioms are often four-character set phrases (成chéng语yǔ).

Overview

Idiomatic phrases are expressions where the meaning cannot be deduced from the individual words. Every language has thousands of them.

Spanish: Rich idiom system, often with vivid imagery. Many relate to food, animals, and religion. Regional variation is significant.
English: Extensive idiom inventory, many from sports, sailing, and Shakespeare. Phrasal verbs function as idiomatic units.
Chinese: Has a unique system of four-character idioms (成chéng语yǔ chéngyǔ) that are mandatory for educated speech. These often reference historical or literary events.

Spanish

Animal idioms

Idiom	Literal	Meaning
estar como una cabra	to be like a goat	to be crazy
tener memoria de elefante	to have elephant memory	to never forget
no ver tres en un burro	not to see three on a donkey	to be blind as a bat
más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo	the devil knows more from being old than from being the devil	experience counts
dar gato por liebre	to give cat for hare	to pull a bait-and-switch

Food idioms

Idiom	Literal	Meaning
ser pan comido	to be eaten bread	to be a piece of cake
estar en su salsa	to be in one’s sauce	to be in one’s element
no tener un duro	not to have a hard one (5 pesetas coin)	to be broke
ser uña y carne	to be fingernail and flesh	to be inseparable
contar con los dedos de la mano	to count on the fingers of one hand	very few

Body part idioms

Idiom	Literal	Meaning
costar un ojo de la cara	to cost an eye from the face	to cost an arm and a leg
no pegar ojo	not to stick an eye	not to sleep a wink
tener el corazón en un puño	to have the heart in a fist	to be very anxious
hablar por los codos	to talk through the elbows	to talk too much
no tener pelos en la lengua	not to have hairs on the tongue	to speak one’s mind

Theatre/performance slang

Mucha mierda (lots of shit) = Break a leg!
Mérde (French loan) = Good luck!

Regional variations

Spain: vale (okay), tío (dude)
Mexico: órale (wow/let’s go), wey (dude)
Argentina: che (hey), boliche (club)
Colombia: parcero (buddy), chévere (cool)

English

Animal idioms

Idiom	Meaning
let the cat out of the bag	reveal a secret
kill two birds with one stone	accomplish two things at once
the elephant in the room	an obvious problem no one mentions
a wild goose chase	a futile pursuit
when pigs fly	never
straight from the horse’s mouth	from the authoritative source
cry wolf	raise a false alarm
black sheep	the disgrace of the family

Food idioms

Idiom	Meaning
piece of cake	very easy
spill the beans	reveal a secret
butter someone up	flatter someone
in a nutshell	in brief
the cherry on top	the final perfect touch
compare apples and oranges	compare incomparable things
have egg on your face	be embarrassed
tough cookie	a strong person

Body part idioms

Idiom	Meaning
cost an arm and a leg	very expensive
pull someone’s leg	tease someone
get cold feet	lose nerve
keep your chin up	stay positive
have a sweet tooth	love sweets
all thumbs	clumsy
by the skin of your teeth	barely
lend an ear	listen

Sports idioms

Idiom	Meaning
ballpark figure	rough estimate
home run	great success
call the shots	be in charge
level playing field	fair competition
throw in the towel	give up
par for the course	normal/expected

Phrasal verb idioms

Idiom	Meaning
give up	surrender
look after	care for
turn up	appear / increase volume
break down	stop functioning
figure out	understand
put up with	tolerate
run out of	exhaust
set off	begin a journey

Chinese

Four-character idioms (成chéng语yǔ chéngyǔ)

成chéng语yǔ are fixed four-character expressions, often from classical literature:

Idiom	Literal	Meaning	Origin
一yī箭jiàn双shuāng雕diāo	one arrow two eagles	kill two birds with one stone	Tang dynasty legend
画huà蛇shé添tiān足zú	draw snake add feet	ruin by adding too much	Warring States fable
守shǒu株zhū待dài兔tù	guard tree stump wait rabbit	wait for windfalls	Warring States fable
杯bēi弓gōng蛇shé影yǐng	bow-in-cup snake shadow	panic from imaginary fear	Han dynasty story
对duì牛niú弹tán琴qín	to cow play zither	waste effort on wrong audience	Han dynasty story
井jǐng底dǐ之zhī蛙wā	well-bottom frog	person with limited experience	Zhuangzi
画huà龙lóng点diǎn睛jīng	draw dragon dot eyes	add the finishing touch	Tang dynasty legend
千qiān载zǎi难nán逢féng	thousand years hard meet	once in a blue moon	Classical

Colloquial idioms

Expression	Literal	Meaning
加jiā油yóu	add oil	go for it / keep it up
马mǎ马mǎ虎hǔ虎hǔ	horse horse tiger tiger	so-so / careless
不bù三sān不bù四sì	not three not four	neither one thing nor another
七qī上shàng八bā下xià	seven up eight down	agitated / nervous
一yī言yán难nán尽jìn	one word hard complete	it’s a long story
没méi门mén儿er	no door	no way
碰pèng钉dīng子zi	bump nail	hit a snag / be rebuffed
露lòu馅xiàn儿er	reveal filling	secret exposed / plot uncovered
白bái日rì梦mèng	white day dream	daydream
吃chī醋cù	eat vinegar	jealous

Set polite expressions

Expression	Literal	Meaning
慢màn走zǒu	walk slowly	take care (when someone leaves)
留liú步bù	stay step	don’t bother to see me off
辛xīn苦kǔ了le	hard work	thanks for your hard work
拜bài托tuō	bow entrust	please (do me this favor)
打dǎ扰rǎo了le	disturb	sorry to bother you

Comparison at a glance

Feature	Spanish	English	Chinese
Four-character idioms	No	No	Yes (成chéng语yǔ)
Historical references	Some	Some	Extensive
Animal imagery	Very common	Very common	Common
Food imagery	Very common	Common	Moderate
Register variation	High (regional)	Moderate	High (classical vs colloquial)
Body part idioms	Common	Common	Moderate
Sports idioms	Few	Many	Few
Theatre slang	Yes	Yes	Limited

Examples

In Context

Spanish	English	Chinese
Cuesta un ojo de la cara.	It costs an arm and a leg.	贵guì得dé要yào命mìng。
¡Mucha mierda! (theatre) / ¡Buena suerte!	Break a leg! (theatre) / Good luck!	加jiā油yóu！
Es pan comido.	It’s a piece of cake.	小xiǎo菜cài一yī碟dié。

Common mistakes

Translating idioms literally: Break a leg → NOT rompe una pierna → Mucha mierda (theatre) or ¡Buena suerte!
Using formal idioms informally: 小xiǎocase (mixing English and Chinese) → 小xiǎo菜cài一yí碟dié (pure Chinese)
Overusing 成chéng语yǔ: Using classical 成chéng语yǔ in casual conversation sounds pretentious
Not learning regional variants: che (Argentina) vs wey (Mexico) vs tío (Spain)

Formal vs Informal: How register affects idiom choice
Modals: How modal expressions function idiomatically
Prepositions: How phrasal verbs are idiomatic
Causatives: How causative expressions vary idiomatically

Examples

It's raining cats and dogs

Llover a cántaros / Llueve a mares

Break a leg (good luck)

Mucha mierda (theatre slang)

Kill two birds with one stone

Matar dos pájaros de un tiro

Let the cat out of the bag

Descubrir el pastel / Levantar la liebre

Cost an arm and a leg

Costar un ojo de la cara

Piece of cake (easy)

Pan comido / Es chupado

Once in a blue moon

De higos a brevas / Cada muerte de obispo

Bite the bullet

Afrontar el toro / Apretar los dientes

Examples

It's raining cats and dogs

Break a leg (good luck)

Break a leg

Kill two birds with one stone

Let the cat out of the bag

Cost an arm and a leg

Piece of cake (easy)

Piece of cake

Once in a blue moon

Bite the bullet

Examples

It's raining cats and dogs

倾qīng盆pén大dà雨yǔ (倾qīng泻xiè盆pén地dì大dà雨yǔ)

Break a leg (good luck)

加jiā油yóu (add oil = go for it)

Kill two birds with one stone

一yī箭jiàn双shuāng雕diāo (one arrow double eagle)

Let the cat out of the bag

露lòu馅xiàn了le (revealed filling = secret exposed)

Cost an arm and a leg

贵guì得dé要yào命mìng (expensive to the point of death)

Piece of cake (easy)

小xiǎo菜cài一yī碟dié (small dish one plate = easy)

Once in a blue moon

千qiān载zǎi难nán逢féng (thousand years hard encounter)

Bite the bullet

咬yǎo牙yá切qiē齿chǐ (bite teeth grind teeth = endure)

Comparison at a glance

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
It's raining cats and dogs	Llover a cántaros / Llueve a mares	It's raining cats and dogs	倾qīng盆pén大dà雨yǔ (倾qīng泻xiè盆pén地dì大dà雨yǔ)
Break a leg (good luck)	Mucha mierda (theatre slang)	Break a leg	加jiā油yóu (add oil = go for it)
Kill two birds with one stone	Matar dos pájaros de un tiro	Kill two birds with one stone	一yī箭jiàn双shuāng雕diāo (one arrow double eagle)
Let the cat out of the bag	Descubrir el pastel / Levantar la liebre	Let the cat out of the bag	露lòu馅xiàn了le (revealed filling = secret exposed)
Cost an arm and a leg	Costar un ojo de la cara	Cost an arm and a leg	贵guì得dé要yào命mìng (expensive to the point of death)
Piece of cake (easy)	Pan comido / Es chupado	Piece of cake	小xiǎo菜cài一yī碟dié (small dish one plate = easy)
Once in a blue moon	De higos a brevas / Cada muerte de obispo	Once in a blue moon	千qiān载zǎi难nán逢féng (thousand years hard encounter)
Bite the bullet	Afrontar el toro / Apretar los dientes	Bite the bullet	咬yǎo牙yá切qiē齿chǐ (bite teeth grind teeth = endure)

Side-by-side comparison

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
It's raining cats and dogs	Llover a cántaros / Llueve a mares	It's raining cats and dogs	倾qīng盆pén大dà雨yǔ (倾qīng泻xiè盆pén地dì大dà雨yǔ)
Break a leg (good luck)	Mucha mierda (theatre slang)	Break a leg	加jiā油yóu (add oil = go for it)
Kill two birds with one stone	Matar dos pájaros de un tiro	Kill two birds with one stone	一yī箭jiàn双shuāng雕diāo (one arrow double eagle)
Let the cat out of the bag	Descubrir el pastel / Levantar la liebre	Let the cat out of the bag	露lòu馅xiàn了le (revealed filling = secret exposed)
Cost an arm and a leg	Costar un ojo de la cara	Cost an arm and a leg	贵guì得dé要yào命mìng (expensive to the point of death)
Piece of cake (easy)	Pan comido / Es chupado	Piece of cake	小xiǎo菜cài一yī碟dié (small dish one plate = easy)
Once in a blue moon	De higos a brevas / Cada muerte de obispo	Once in a blue moon	千qiān载zǎi难nán逢féng (thousand years hard encounter)
Bite the bullet	Afrontar el toro / Apretar los dientes	Bite the bullet	咬yǎo牙yá切qiē齿chǐ (bite teeth grind teeth = endure)

Examples in context

It's raining cats and dogs

Spanish

Llover a cántaros / Llueve a mares

English

It's raining cats and dogs

Chinese

倾qīng盆pén大dà雨yǔ (倾qīng泻xiè盆pén地dì大dà雨yǔ)

Break a leg (good luck)

Spanish

Mucha mierda (theatre slang)

English

Break a leg

Chinese

加jiā油yóu (add oil = go for it)

Kill two birds with one stone

Spanish

Matar dos pájaros de un tiro

English

Kill two birds with one stone

Chinese

一yī箭jiàn双shuāng雕diāo (one arrow double eagle)

Let the cat out of the bag

Spanish

Descubrir el pastel / Levantar la liebre

English

Let the cat out of the bag

Chinese

露lòu馅xiàn了le (revealed filling = secret exposed)

Cost an arm and a leg

Spanish

Costar un ojo de la cara

English

Cost an arm and a leg

Chinese

贵guì得dé要yào命mìng (expensive to the point of death)

Piece of cake (easy)

Spanish

Pan comido / Es chupado

English

Piece of cake

Chinese

小xiǎo菜cài一yī碟dié (small dish one plate = easy)

Once in a blue moon

Spanish

De higos a brevas / Cada muerte de obispo

English

Once in a blue moon

Chinese

千qiān载zǎi难nán逢féng (thousand years hard encounter)

Bite the bullet

Spanish

Afrontar el toro / Apretar los dientes

English

Bite the bullet

Chinese

咬yǎo牙yá切qiē齿chǐ (bite teeth grind teeth = endure)

Key Takeaways

Spanish: Rich idiom system, often with vivid imagery. Many relate to food, animals, and religion. Regional variation is significant.

English: Extensive idiom inventory, many from sports, sailing, and Shakespeare. Phrasal verbs function as idiomatic units.

Chinese: Has a unique system of four-character idioms (成chéng语yǔ chéngyǔ) that are mandatory for educated speech. These often reference historical or. Chinese idioms are often four-character set phrases (成chéng语yǔ<

Key concepts compared: It's raining cats and dogs, Break a leg (good luck), Kill two birds with one stone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Chinese idioms (成语 chéngyǔ) pose a unique challenge that Spanish and English idioms do not?

Chinese <ruby>成<rt>chéng</rt></ruby><ruby>语<rt>yǔ</rt></ruby> are almost always exactly four characters, drawing on classical literature and historical events: <ruby>一<rt>yī</rt></ruby><ruby>箭<rt>jiàn</rt></ruby><ruby>双<rt>shuāng</rt></ruby><ruby>雕<rt>diāo</rt></ruby> (one arrow, two eagles — from a Tang dynasty story). Their meaning is opaque without cultural knowledge. Spanish and English idioms are typically transparent phrases ('raining cats and dogs,' *llueve a cántaros*) whose imagery is accessible even to learners. A Chinese speaker learning Spanish or English can often guess an idiom's meaning from context, but a foreigner encountering <ruby>成<rt>chéng</rt></ruby><ruby>语<rt>yǔ</rt></ruby> cannot guess without studying the source text.

How do the conceptual metaphors behind idioms differ across Spanish, English, and Chinese?

English 'cost an arm and a leg' and Spanish *costar un ojo de la cara* (cost an eye from the face) both use body parts to express expense, but they choose different parts. Chinese <ruby>贵<rt>guì</rt></ruby><ruby>得<rt>dé</rt></ruby><ruby>要<rt>yào</rt></ruby><ruby>命<rt>mìng</rt></ruby> (expensive to the point of death) uses life itself. English rain idioms use animals ('cats and dogs'); Spanish uses containers (*a cántaros* = by pitcherfuls); Chinese uses the image of a tipped-over basin (<ruby>倾<rt>qīng</rt></ruby><ruby>盆<rt>pén</rt></ruby><ruby>大<rt>dà</rt></ruby><ruby>雨<rt>yǔ</rt></ruby>). These differences show that idioms are not acoustic descriptions but culturally shaped conceptual mappings. A learner cannot translate their native idiom literally and expect comprehension.

Why do learners sound unnatural even when they use grammatically correct idioms?

Register and frequency matter. English 'break a leg' is theatrical slang; using it in a job interview sounds bizarre. Spanish *muchas mierda* (lots of crap) is also theatrical and extremely informal. Chinese <ruby>加<rt>jiā</rt></ruby><ruby>油<rt>yóu</rt></ruby> (add oil) is cheerfully casual — appropriate for sports, not for a eulogy. Learners often know the meaning but miss the register, frequency, and social contexts where an idiom is appropriate. A Chinese speaker who translates <ruby>加<rt>jiā</rt></ruby><ruby>油<rt>yóu</rt></ruby> as 'add oil' in English will be misunderstood; the equivalent English expression is 'go for it' or 'you can do it.'

References

Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981

Last updated: June 4, 2026

Overview

Spanish

Animal idioms

Food idioms

Body part idioms

Theatre/performance slang

Regional variations

English

Animal idioms

Food idioms

Body part idioms

Sports idioms

Phrasal verb idioms

Chinese

Four-character idioms (成chéng语yǔ chéngyǔ)

Colloquial idioms

Set polite expressions

Comparison at a glance

Examples

In Context

Common mistakes

Related topics

Examples

Examples

Examples

Comparison at a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Examples in context

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

References