Chengyu Challenge: Determined vs. Half-Hearted
Chengyu are four-character idioms in Chinese language. They originate from ancient stories but mostly have a morale that can still be applied to modern-day situations. Using them shows great proficience in the language and will impress your Chinese friends!
Today I will introduce you to two Chengyu that have a simple yet very useful structure.
The first one is yìxīnyíyì 一心一意; One heart, one mind. As you can guess by the posts headline, this Chengyu expresses determination and focus.
You can use it in different ways, for example:
- 你工作上要一心一意的。
Nǐ gōngzuòshàng yào yíxīnyíyì de.
You have to devote yourself to work. - 他一心一意地做作业。
Tā yíxīnyíyì de zuò zuòyè
He does his homework wholeheartedly.
Conveniently, to get the opposite meaning of 一心一意 all you have to do is change the numbers: sānxīnèryì 三心二意; Three hearts, two minds. Aside from meaning someone is doing things half-heartedly, 三心二意 can also imply inconclusiveness, being shilly-shally.
- 王先生工作三心二意的。
Wáng xiānshēng gōngzuò sānxīnèryì de.
Mr. Wang’s work is healf-hearted. - 别三心二意了！
Bié sānxīnèryì le!
Stop being shilly-shally! - 我从来不三心二意。
Wǒ cónglái bù sānxīnèryì.
I am never healf-hearted.
These two Chengyu are easy to remember and very useful. Try them out on your Chinese friends, it’s fun!
The picture to this post is taken from Flickr Creative Commons, (c) by Augenapfel.
