사자성어

사자성어 are four-character idioms from Chinese. This is called chengyu in Chinese.

Idioms

4 character idiom	Chinese Characters	Literal meaning	Translation	Note
유유상종	類類相從		Birds of a feather flock together
일석이조	一石二鳥		Kill two birds with one stone
새옹지마	塞翁之馬		A blessing in disguise
고진감래	苦盡甘來		No pain, no gain
견물생심	見物生心		Seeing is wanting
기진맥진	氣盡脈盡		Complete exhaustion
죽마고우	竹馬故友		A childhood friend
자신만만	自信滿滿	Full of confidence	Full of confidence
다다익선	多多益善		The more the merrier
부지기수	不知其數		Countless, boundless
학수고대	鶴首苦待		Look forward to
막상막하	莫上莫下		Equally matched, neck-and-neck, on par, be 50-50
무용지물	無用之物		Something that is useless, white elephant	Attaches with -이다
일거양득	一擧兩得		Kill two birds with one stone	Attaches with -이다
유비무환	有備無患		Prevention is better than cure, better safe than sorry	Attaches with -이다
호시탐탐	虎視眈眈		Waiting for an opportunity (to do something), waiting for an opening, waiting to pounce. You watch a situation and wait until you see an opportunity to take advantage of the situation
승승장구	乘勝長驅		Keep on winning, being on a roll, going from strength to strength, being on the up and up	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (승승장구하다)
천생연분	天生緣分		A match made in heaven; to be a perfect match	Attaches with -이다

Vocabulary

These function like actual words

4 character idiom	Chinese Characters	Literal meaning	Translation	Note
과소평가	過小評價		Underestimate	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (과소평가하다)
자화자찬	自畫自讚		Self-praise	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (자화자찬하다)
비일비재	非一非再		Frequent occurrence	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (비일비재하다)
다재다능	多才多能		Well-rounded, versatile, all-around (good)	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (다재다능하다)
도중하차	途中下車		A stopover, a layover	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (도중하차하다)
대성통곡	大聲痛哭		Weep loudly, mourn bitterly	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (대성통곡하다)
거두절미	去頭截尾		To make a long story short	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (거두절미하다)
일취월장	日就月將	Making progress day after day, month after month	Making steady progress	Attach -하다 to turn it into a verb (일취월장 하다)