User Comments - zhenlijiang

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Did your friends say on what grounds those are chengyu? You say they can easily be called into question as not being true idioms. So ... ?

I'm quite prepared to say I was mistaken and apologize for correcting you, it isn't that I have a need to prevail here. But again, we're left with the questions people have been asking. So what makes a chengyu after all? Who is the authority? Seems nobody can say definitively. So why do your friends say those are chengyu? I simply want to know how (at least some) native speakers look at this.

And again, I would think there are many idioms that aren't chengyu. I'd really like it if our teachers would address some of these questions here, let us know what they think.

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Thanks I see what you mean. I suppose I would be inclined to call those something else, if anything at all. "Genuine" confuses me.

I agree about them still being impressive enough for many learners.

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Hi Bodawei, what do you mean by a "genuine chengyu"?

Posted on: Pricey Beer

OK. Thanks for addressing this John.

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Xiaohu, the MDBG entry has 心胸狭窄 as an idiom. I couldn't find any 成语 tag. Baba also had this question, and I think this at least needs to be clarified by our teachers--not all idioms are 成语 are they?

Actually my J-C dictionary doesn't even have an entry for 心胸狭窄, which appears only as an example of the use of 心胸 (hence my initial conclusion that 心胸狭窄 is simply a N + Adj).

For what it's worth, all the other examples you give are listed in my dictionary as 成语.

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Baba, perhaps I should concede that 心胸狭窄 is an idiomatic expression, as opposed to "just" 4 characters consisting of a 2-char N. and a 2-char Adj. I would guess that's what Mandarin Popup means by 成语 there--an idiomatic expression meaning "narrow-minded". I still don't think it's a 成语, but on gut, a feel like you say, more than a definition. Just seems to me like if this one is a 成语, then what's to stop any four-char 词组's from being 成语's?

Besides my gut feeling, everything classified as a chengyu by my dictionary is identified as such, and 心胸狭窄 is not. Not helpful, I know. I've listened to this lesson again, and while it makes real clear what CPod's position is on learning chengyus, at the end I think we're feeling like the people in the dialogue--no clear definition of who the authority is, what is a chengyu is and what isn't.

Hope our teachers can give us further insight on this.

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Oh yes perfect! Of course I tried to work your cats into it! 可我法语没把握

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Chez Chanelle en Chine 比较好吧！我会有兴趣啊

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Though I seem to be under the impression that chengyu's aren't of utmost interest to him (could be mistaken), any excuse to get Changye back on CPod somehow is going to be worth a go. A title like Chengyu's with Changye is so obvious, but the alliteration works!

Posted on: An Introduction to Chengyu

Hi Xiaohu, 心胸狭窄 is just a 2-char noun described by a 2-char adjective. You're saying someone is 心胸 / 狭窄, or that their 心胸 is 狭窄. Straightforward in any case, not a chengyu.