📂 Idioms & Four-Character Phrases

Inexperienced in worldly affairs; naive

Lingering; entangled; deeply affectionate; clingy

Speak frankly, open one's heart not to hide anything

to disagree, to not think so, to not regard as right

to beat around the bush, to speak indirectly

to mention in the same breath, to compare as equals

to overthink, to split hairs, to get stuck on trivial matters

to snitch, to tell on someone, to tattle

to cut corners, to do shoddy work, to skimp on materials

to be at one's wit's end, to have no solution, to be stuck

to be caught in a dilemma, to be stuck between a rock and a hard place

a fate worse than death, living hell, life is worse than death

not acclimated, can't adjust to a new environment

when in Rome, do as the Romans do

messy, chaotic, in a total mess

monster parent, helicopter parent

school lunch, cafeteria lunch

to drop off and pick up children

talent development, human resource development

career counseling, career services

industry-academia collaboration, industry partnership

stereotype, fixed impression

to be someone's emotional outlet, to be a listening ear

sloppy, indecisive, to drag things out, wishy-washy

to weigh on one's mind, to keep in mind

all talk, just lip service

to know very well in one's mind, to have a clear idea, to be confident about something

to let one's guard down, to be careless

to make a fool of oneself, to be an embarrassment

to leave on read, to ignore a message after reading it

friend request

hard to say, hesitant to say, can't bring oneself to say

work from home, WFH

remote work, telecommuting

video conference, video meeting

after all, no matter how you put it, at any rate

to twist logic, to argue unreasonably

to get carried away, to get cocky

to lump together, to generalize

to say one thing and mean another, two-faced

to pay out of one's own pocket

smooth talker, glib, slick

to scheme against each other, office politics

wasted effort, to work in vain

food poisoning

earnest advice, well-meaning counsel with patience

to dodge the question, to be evasive, to deflect

to laugh one's head off, to laugh until your sides hurt

where there's a will, there's a way; success depends on human effort

penny wise, pound foolish; to lose big trying to gain small

to be blinded by money, eyes light up at the sight of money

incorrigible, hopeless, beyond help

I see, so that's how it is, that makes sense

to bargain, to haggle, to negotiate prices

to have multiple deductions, to be discounted repeatedly

it's a long story, to make a long story short

calculating, scheming, conniving

playboy, womanizer, ladies' man

can't thank someone enough, deeply grateful, eternally thankful

dirty joke, adult joke, blue joke

let me tell you, guess what, listen

to start from scratch, self-made

deserted, business is slow (lit. one could catch sparrows at the door)

long queue, huge line

to slack off, to goof off at work

Uninhibited / Carefree

Clothes make the man

Misfortunes never come singly / Blessings do not come in pairs

Fail on the verge of success

Suffering for fashion; Freezing to look cool without sympathy

Realize later / Hindsight

Panic and choose any path / Flee in panic

My condolences / Restrain grief and accept the inevitable

Pass an exam / Succeed in the examination

Reunion after a long separation

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes / Pitiful people have their own hateful qualities

A toad wanting to eat swan meat (Craving something out of one「s league)

Pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth (Extremely dangerous)

Never tiring of; deeply engrossed

One knows best by one's own experience

A few words

Keep fighting despite repeated setbacks; never give up

Plain-looking / Average appearance

Meager effort / Modest contribution

Drifting, erratic, unstable

Practice makes perfect

Practice makes perfect

Two-faced / Hypocritical

Not enough to go around / Too many monks, too little gruel

Young and inexperienced / Lacking insight

Possessing magical powers / Extremely capable / Resourceful

Victory and defeat are common in war / Winning and losing is part of the game

A leopard cannot change its spots / Old habits die hard

Seek undue size and completeness

Pour one's heart out, wholehearted

Birds of a feather flock together

Foresight / Visionary

The last leg is the hardest

Reasoning with the unreasonable is impossible

Out of reach / Unattainable

A white complexion hides a hundred flaws

Spit it out / Speak up

Deeply worried / Anxious

Playing hard to get

Well-balanced / Paced

Real is real, fake is fake

Stubborn / Intractable / Tough

Knowing shame leads to courage

True capability shows in crisis

Unique style / In a class of its own