ChengYu - Daily Chinese Idioms

New: show the literal meaning, the deeper meaning, or both — in the app and on every widget. Settings now sync to widgets instantly, and audio plays even on silent.

One Chinese idiom a day, right on your home screen.

Chengyu (成语) are four-character idioms that carry centuries of Chinese history in a single phrase. ChengYu gives you one a day — with pinyin, meaning, a real example, and the story behind it.

WIDGETS THAT ACTUALLY TEACH YOU Put a chengyu on your home screen in three sizes. Small shows the characters and pinyin, medium and large add the meaning and an example sentence. It changes at midnight, so you learn one without opening an app.

BOTH MEANINGS, YOUR CHOICE Every idiom has a literal translation and a deeper meaning. 塞翁失马 literally means "the old man loses his horse" — but it really means misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. Show either, or show both, in the app and on your widgets.

SIMPLIFIED OR TRADITIONAL Switch between 简体 and 繁體 characters at any time. Examples and descriptions switch with them.

HEAR IT SPOKEN Tap to hear native Mandarin pronunciation of any idiom, with support for enhanced iOS voices.

BUILT FOR DAILY LEARNING • A new idiom every day, plus the full history of past ones • Save your favorites for review • Real example sentences in Chinese and English • The cultural story behind each idiom • Share any idiom as an image

FREE, WITH NO ADS AND NO TRACKING ChengYu is completely free. There are no ads, no accounts, no analytics, and nothing is collected about you. If you'd like to support development, there's an optional tip jar in Settings — it unlocks nothing, because everything is already unlocked.

Perfect for HSK students, heritage speakers, teachers, and anyone who wants a little more Chinese in their day.