How to use chengyu

[gougou]

What proverd is 仍不死心??

Oh, is it not? Well, a fixed expression then, never sure of the differences...

[skylee]

I used these at my office today. It is funny they seem to fit my office perfectly ->

閉門造車 (bi4 men2 zao4 che1)

時移勢易 (shi2 yi2 shi4 yi4)

自掘墳墓 (zi4 jue3 fen2 mu4)

[HashiriKata]

But I've never seen an idiom used as part of a larger sentence, and would like to know how that would work.

After a few days of listening to chengyu fables (see the thread: Listening Exercise), I think I've got a feel for chengyu and how they are used. Below are some sentences incorporating chengyu either made up or adapted by me. I hope they'll be helpful to some people but if anyone spots any mistakes, please point them out for me:

尽管你说得天花乱坠，我还不跟你去旅行！

Although you sound very persuasive, I still won't go travelling with you!

你一会儿想去，一会儿不想去，真的超三暮四，我怎么知道你到底去还是不去！

You at one moment say you'd go and at another you would not go, keeping changing your mind. How can I tell if you'd go or not?

“杞人忧天”用来比喻没有必要的担忧，无用的着急。你有的时候也会杞人忧天吗？

The proverb "Qiren youtian" is used as a metaphor for groundless fear or worry. Do you think you sometimes also have this kind of unnecessary worry?

他完全不懂电脑，你不要跟他对牛弹琴了。

He doesn't understand computers, so don't waste your breath on him about computers.

你所知道我的发音很糟糕，你有什么亡羊补牢的好建议吗？

As you know, my pronunciation is terrible. Do you have any good suggestion for remedying it?

[semantic nuance]

你一会儿想去，一会儿不想去，真的超三暮四，我怎么知道你到底去还是不去！

你一会儿想去，一会儿不想去，真的是朝三暮四，我怎么知道你到底去还是不去！

他完全不懂电脑，你不要跟他对牛弹琴了。

他完全不懂电脑，你不要对牛弹琴了。He is implied as 牛, so you don't have to add 跟他 in the sentence.

你所知道我的发音很糟糕，你有什么亡羊补牢的好建议吗？

This chenyu put here is a bit unnatural. 亡羊補牢 is used when something is lost or done wrong and you want to find a way to remedy it. I don't know I find it strange.

Hope it helps!

[HashiriKata]

Thanks for the corrections, semantic nuance, they're very helpful!

(Can you make up/ give an easy sentence incorporating 亡羊補牢 ?)

[semantic nuance]

Ok, now I'll make the sentence with 亡羊補牢:

什麼! 亡羊補牢都不會, 回去給我抄ㄧ百遍! 明天交過來! (What! You don't know 亡羊補牢?! Write it 100 times and hand it to me tomorrow!) Just kidding!

Here are 2 examples I copied from some dictionary:

1. 亡羊補牢為時未晚--It's never too late to mend.

亡羊補牢為時未晚, 你應該回去和妳先生重新生活.(It's never too late to mend. You should go back and live with your husband again.)

2. 亡羊補牢--lock/close the barn door after the horse has gone/is stolen (or lock the stable door after the horse has gone.)

你應該事先採取預防措施 , 亡羊補牢於事無補.(You should have taken preventive measures in advance. It's no use locking the barn door after the horse has gone.)

Hope it helps!

[semantic nuance]

I just made up this a minute ago. Anyone can translate it for me ? BTW, when I typed this, it came to me maybe we could play chenyu jie1long2. Namely, to make a story up by using chenyu posted and to see how far it can go!

你這個忘恩負義的狗雜碎, 虧你還跟我稱兄道弟, 想不到竟然在背後捅我ㄧ刀, 賣友求榮, 看我今天怎麼殺了你這個不仁不義的王八羔子!

[HashiriKata]

Your last sentence with 4 chengyu's in it seems to be a challenge to translate, but I'll see if I can understand it correctly first (It seems to be also quite negative, doesn't it?)

Anyway, the earlier proverb, 亡羊補牢, may be a little difficult to use because it can be understood in two opposite senses:

1. It's never too late to mend (as in example 1 you cited)

2. It's too late to mend (as in example 2 you cited)

Still, I'll see if I can come up with a better example of usage than my earlier one (学到老，学到老！！！)

UPDATE:

Ok, I did try translating your sentence with 4 chengyu's as I said earlier but I had to give up halfway through because I couldn't find enough insulting words in my vocab to complete it. So, I'll have to leave it for someone else with more talent to try!

[semantic nuance]

hehe! no offence! sorry for the vulgarity..... hmmm....maybe some words do make people nauseous...我真是狗嘴裡吐不出象牙.

thinking if i should delete it...

[jukebox]

你一会儿想去，一会儿不想去，真的是朝三暮四，我怎么知道你到底去还是不去！

朝三暮四 is actually to describe someone who play tricks on somebody. Under this circumstance, you could use 朝秦暮楚 instead.

People nowadays gradually regard 朝三暮四 and 朝秦暮楚 as the same thing, which is so-called 以讹传讹.

But what I recommend is not to use those 成语 (such as 七月流火、空穴来风) whose meanings have been distorted over time.

[skylee]

People nowadays gradually regard 朝三暮四 and 朝秦暮楚 as the same thing, which is so-called 以讹传讹.

I don't think I agree that it is 以訛傳訛. I think it is more like an expansion of the original meanings. Take a look at 朝三暮四 and 朝秦暮楚 ->

朝三暮四

本指一養猴人以果子飼養猴子，施以詐術騙猴的故事。見莊子˙齊物論。後比喻以詐術欺人，或心意不定、反覆無常。

朝秦暮楚

秦和楚為戰國時代的兩大國，夾處其間的韓、趙、魏等國，時而事秦，時而事楚，反覆變化。後因以朝秦暮楚比喻人心反覆無常。