Chinese idioms, used the way they are used
Chengyu in Context
A real sentence with its idiom taken out. Pick the one that belongs in the gap. 128 sentences, 65 idioms, four levels — and every sentence is one the site already publishes, word for word.
Most idiom practice asks what an idiom means. That is the easy half. The hard half is the one that shows up in reading and writing: a sentence has a slot, and only one idiom fits it — because of what the idiom means, but also because of what it describes (a person, a crowd, a plan, a mood) and how it sits in the grammar around it. An idiom glossed as "endless" can describe a stream of people or a stream of words, and the sentence decides which.
So this drill starts from the sentence. Read it, find what the gap has to do, and choose. On the lower levels the English translation and the options' meanings are there to lean on; on the higher ones you have only the Chinese, which is the situation you will be in when you meet these idioms for real.
The first question of each difficulty band, answered. Bands are read from the HSK word lists: an idiom's band is the level of its hardest character.
| Level | What it asks | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 入门 Beginner | The English translation is on screen and every option shows its pinyin and meaning — match the sense. | ×1 |
| 进阶 Intermediate | The translation stays, the options lose their meanings: you have to know what each idiom says. | ×2 |
| 高手 Advanced | No translation unless you peek — read the Chinese sentence and pick the idiom it needs. | ×3 |
| 宗师 Expert | Characters only: no translation, no pinyin, the hardest idioms from the first question. | ×4 |
Where the sentences come from. Each one is published elsewhere on the site and used word for word — none was written for this game:
- Dictionary example: 128 sentences
Wrong answers are real idioms that are not in the sentence, sit within one band of the right answer and share no key word of its meaning, so the obvious synonyms are never offered. A sentence that cannot be given three such options is left out rather than padded. 3 of the idioms asked for have a full origin story; the reveal links to it.
How does Chengyu in Context work?
You see a real Chinese sentence with a four-character idiom taken out of it, and four idioms to choose from. Pick the one the sentence needs. A right answer is stamped into the gap and adds to a combo multiplier; a wrong one costs one of three lives. Every ten sentences is a round, and every two rounds harder idioms join the deal.
Where do the sentences come from?
Every one of the 128 sentences is already published elsewhere on the site — mostly as a dictionary example — and is used word for word. None was written for the game. The idioms are the site's idiom-chain bank plus the HSK headwords the dictionary itself labels as idioms, and a sentence qualifies only if it contains exactly one of them.
Why can't two answers both be right?
Every wrong option is a real idiom that does not appear in the sentence, sits in a neighbouring difficulty band, and shares no key word of meaning with the right answer — so the obvious synonyms are never offered. If a sentence cannot be given three wrong answers that pass that check, it is left out rather than padded.
What do the four levels change?
Beginner shows the English translation and gives every option its pinyin and meaning. Intermediate keeps the translation but hides the meanings. Advanced hides the translation — you can peek, but only answers given without it earn the bonus. Expert shows characters only and deals the hardest idioms from the first question. Harder levels multiply the score.
Is it free?
Completely free, with no sign-up. Your best scores are kept in this browser only; posting to the leaderboard is optional and uses an automatically generated name.
Meanings marked † are from CC-CEDICT and are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; the rest are ThePureLanguage's own.