Animals & Zodiac

8 Powerful Chinese Idioms With Dragon (龙)

Discover Chinese idioms featuring the dragon (龙), a symbol of power, luck, and imperial authority in Chinese culture.

The dragon (龙, lóng) is the most revered creature in Chinese mythology, symbolizing power, strength, and good fortune. These idioms featuring the dragon are especially popular during Chinese New Year and celebrations.

画龙点睛

huà lóng diǎn jīng

Add crucial finishing touch

Literal meaning: Dot dragon's eyes

This vivid idiom comes from a story of the legendary painter Zhang Sengyou during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. After painting (画) four dragons (龙) on a temple wall, he deliberately left them without pupils. When questioned, he explained that dotting (点) the eyes (睛) would bring them t...

Example

Her final edit transformed the good presentation into an excellent one

她最后的修改把这个好的演讲变成了一个出色的演讲

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龙马精神

lóng mǎ jīng shén

Youthful vigor despite old age

Literal meaning: Dragon-horse spirit

This vigorous idiom combines dragon (龙) and horse (马) energy (精神), originating from Tang Dynasty descriptions of elderly but energetic officials. Both animals symbolized tremendous vitality in Chinese culture—dragons representing imperial power and horses signifying tireless strength. The phrase gai...

Example

The 85-year-old professor still taught full courses with remarkable energy

这位85岁的教授仍然精力充沛地教授全部课程

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叶公好龙

yè gōng hào lóng

Professed love hiding actual fear

Literal meaning: Lord Ye loves dragons

This ironic tale tells of Lord Ye (叶公) who professed to love (好) dragons (龙) but fled in terror when faced with a real one. During the Six Dynasties period, it became a standard criticism of superficial appreciation without genuine understanding. The dragon imagery carried particular weight in Chine...

Example

The executive claimed to value innovation but rejected every new idea presented

这位高管声称重视创新，但拒绝了提出的每一个新想法

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直捣黄龙

zhí dǎo huáng lóng

Strike directly at the heart of enemy territory

Literal meaning: Directly attack Yellow Dragon

General Yue Fei's determination to recapture northern territories gave birth to this bold strategy of striking directly (直捣) at the Yellow Dragon (黄龙) - the Jin Dynasty's imperial palace in Kaifeng. The geographic symbolism carried both literal and metaphoric weight, representing both the physical s...

Example

The military campaign bypassed smaller targets to strike directly at the enemy's capital

军事行动绕过较小的目标，直接打击敌人的首都

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虎踞龙盘

hǔ jù lóng pán

Commanding imposing strategic position

Literal meaning: Tiger crouch dragon coil

Three Kingdoms period geographers first described Nanjing's terrain as having tigers crouching (虎踞) and dragons coiling (龙盘). The image combined earth's greatest predator with its supreme mythical creature to capture the city's naturally commanding position. Tang Dynasty writers expanded it to descr...

Example

The ancient fortress commanded the mountain pass with intimidating strategic position

这座古堡以令人生畏的战略位置控制着山口

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来龙去脉

lái lóng qù mài

The whole story; causes and effects

Literal meaning: Coming dragon and going veins

This idiom originates from Chinese geomancy (feng shui), where 'dragon' (龙) refers to mountain ranges and 'veins' (脉) to their extensions. Geomancers traced the 'coming dragon' and 'going veins' to understand the landscape's energy flow. The phrase evolved to mean tracing the origins and development...

Example

Before making a decision, we need to understand the full context.

做决定之前，我们需要了解事情的来龙去脉。

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