成语故事

Explore the origins and meanings of classic Chinese idioms, enhancing your advanced vocabulary and cultural understanding.

画蛇添足: huà shé tiān zú: to draw legs on a snake (to overdo something unnecessary)
掩耳盗铃: yǎn ěr dào líng: to cover one's ears while stealing a bell (to deceive oneself)
守株待兔: shǒu zhū dài tù: to guard a tree stump waiting for rabbits (to wait passively for luck)
亡羊补牢: wáng yáng bǔ láo: to mend the pen after losing the sheep (to take action after a loss)
刻舟求剑: kè zhōu qiú jiàn: to carve a mark on a boat to find a sword (to be rigidly inflexible)
叶公好龙: yè gōng hào lóng: Lord Ye's love of dragons (to pretend to like something)
井底之蛙: jǐng dǐ zhī wā: a frog at the bottom of a well (a person with limited perspective)
对牛弹琴: duì niú tán qín: to play music to a cow (to waste effort on the wrong audience)

A: 你听说过‘画蛇添足’的故事吗？

(Nǐ tīng shuō guò 'huà shé tiān zú' de gù shì ma?)

A: Have you heard the story of 'drawing legs on a snake'?

B: 当然，它告诉我们做事不要过度，否则会适得其反。

(Dāng rán, tā gào sù wǒ men zuò shì bù yào guò dù, fǒu zé huì shì dé qí fǎn.)

B: Of course, it tells us not to overdo things, or it will backfire.

A: 对，就像‘掩耳盗铃’一样，自欺欺人。

(Duì, jiù xiàng 'yǎn ěr dào líng' yī yàng, zì qī qī rén.)

A: Yes, just like 'covering ears to steal a bell', deceiving oneself.

‘否则’ (fǒu zé) is used to indicate a consequence if a condition is not met, similar to 'otherwise' in English.

‘像……一样’ (xiàng... yī yàng) is a comparative structure meaning 'like...', used to draw analogies.

‘告诉’ (gào sù) as a verb takes an indirect object (person) and a direct object (information), e.g., '告诉我一个故事'.