10 Complete Chinese Idioms With the Number Ten (十)

Words carry great weight

Literal meaning: Words heavy as nine cauldrons

During the Zhou Dynasty, nine sacred bronze cauldrons (鼎) symbolized imperial authority. This idiom equates a single (一) word (言) with the weight of these nine (九) vessels, emphasizing extraordinary trustworthiness. The historical bronze dings required immense strength to move, making them perfect m...

Perfected through repeated refinement

Literal meaning: Thousand hammers hundred forges

This metallurgical metaphor describes something subjected to a thousand (千) hammer blows (锤) and a hundred (百) forgings (炼), originating from Han Dynasty descriptions of sword-making. Historical records detail how the finest blades required repeated folding and hammering to remove impurities and str...

Essentially the same despite appearances

Literal meaning: Half catty eight taels

This idiom originated from Ming Dynasty marketplace terminology, first appearing in vernacular literature describing equivalent items differently packaged or presented. During the Qing Dynasty, it entered common usage for comparing people or things superficially different but substantively identical...

Many people busily working together in disorder

Literal meaning: Seven hands eight feet

Tang Dynasty temple construction projects gave birth to this vivid phrase describing numerous hands (七手) and feet (八脚) moving simultaneously. The image of multiple workers in confined spaces, creating organized chaos, resonated through the ages. Song Dynasty writers found humor in these scenes of we...

Complete disorganization and messiness

Literal meaning: Chaotic seven eight messy

Ming Dynasty vernacular literature gave us this wonderfully expressive phrase for utter chaos involving numerous (七八) elements in complete disarray (糟). Unlike more scholarly idioms, it emerged from the everyday language of households and marketplaces. Qing Dynasty novels employed it to paint vivid ...

Very high probability at about 80-90 percent

Literal meaning: Ten has eight nine

Song Dynasty scholars, debating the nature of probability, gave us this precise way of expressing likelihood - that out of ten cases (十), eight or nine (八九) will occur as expected. The phrase offered a mathematical precision between absolute certainty and mere possibility. Ming Dynasty merchants ado...

Talk complete nonsense without any foundation

Literal meaning: Reckless speak eight ways

Ming Dynasty vernacular speech gave us this colorful description of reckless speaking (胡说) scattered in eight directions (八道). Qing Dynasty scholars used it to criticize statements completely disconnected from evidence or logic. The image of words scattered in all directions perfectly captured the c...

Extending in all directions; well-connected

Literal meaning: Connected in four directions, reaching in eight

This idiom originated during the Warring States period and appears in 'Records of the Grand Historian' (史记). It describes roads or passages that connect and extend in all directions - four (四) main directions and eight (八) secondary ones, covering all possible paths. Originally used to describe the ...

A bewildering variety; all kinds of

Literal meaning: Five flowers and eight gates

This idiom has roots in ancient Chinese military strategy, where 'five flowers' (五花) referred to five tactical formations and 'eight gates' (八门) to eight strategic positions. The phrase originally described the complexity of battlefield tactics. Over time, it evolved to describe any diverse or varie...

Ever-changing; constantly varying

Literal meaning: Thousand changes ten thousand transformations

This idiom uses the large numbers 'thousand' (千) and 'ten thousand' (万) with 'change' (变) and 'transform' (化) to describe constant flux. The hyperbolic numbers emphasize the endless variety of transformations. The phrase reflects Daoist philosophy regarding the ceaseless change underlying apparent s...