Interesting four-character idioms for elementary schoolers! Words you'll want to use once you understand their meanings
“I want to teach fun four-character idioms to elementary school kids!” If that’s what you’re looking for, you’re not alone.
Among the four-character idioms we casually see and hear, there are actually tons with funny meanings and origins that really capture children’s imaginations.
The sound of the words is enjoyable too, making them perfect to learn together with kids! In this article, we’ll introduce four-character idioms that will make elementary schoolers exclaim, “Wow!” with sparkling eyes—and that adults can enjoy learning alongside them.
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Interesting four-character idioms for elementary schoolers! Words you'll want to use once you understand their meanings (1–10)
a miraculous comeback
It’s a four-character idiom that expresses rebuilding from a hopeless state or bringing something on the verge of death back to life.
In the sense of overcoming a crisis, the word conveys the strength of steadily piling up effort and breaking through obstacles.
Both “kishi” and “kaisei” trace their origins to Chinese anecdotes and poetry, and the phrase has long been passed down as a familiar expression.
Since the characters for life and death are included, it also highlights the sense of giving one’s all.
stubborn to the core
This four-character idiom expresses sticking to a decision, idea, or belief to the very end without listening to other people’s opinions.
“Stubborn” can carry a negative impression of being inflexible, and the idiom is sometimes used with that nuance as well.
It’s interesting that it carries both a positive image of staying true to one’s convictions and a negative one.
It feels like a word that directly conveys the strength of will to charge ahead in your own way.
like the east wind to a horse (an admonition goes unheeded; words fall on deaf ears)
This is a four-character idiom that describes someone who pays no attention to others’ opinions or advice, as if letting them go in one ear and out the other.
Just as a horse feels nothing from an east wind, it suggests that no matter how important the matter is, it doesn’t resonate at all.
It originates from a line in “Answer to Wang Twelve: Drinking Alone on a Cold Night with Feelings,” a poem by Li Bai, a poet active during China’s Tang dynasty, where the image is also of wind passing through a horse’s ears.
The phrase is often used critically to describe someone who brushes things off and refuses to take anything in.
Interesting four-character idioms for elementary schoolers! Words you'll want to use once you understand their meanings (11–20)
flash in the pan
It’s a four-character idiom that refers to starting things but quickly getting bored and not sticking with them, as well as to the person who is easily bored.
The “three days” used here isn’t a literal number but a way of saying a short period, so it doesn’t mean that lasting only three days is acceptable—this is an important point.
It’s said to originate from a monk who quit after three days because the training was so harsh, and it’s used to criticize fickleness.
Receiving this criticism can motivate someone to overcome the “three-day” barrier and keep going for longer, right?
ever-changing
It’s a four-character idiom that means freely changing one’s form, appearing and disappearing at will, and various kinds of transformations.
Because of the idea of changing shape, it also carries a magical, fantasy-like vibe that can be exciting.
Change doesn’t have to be about appearance, so it also evokes invisible shifts in thinking and the flexible way of moving things forward.
It seems to express a nimble approach that responds well to the situation at hand, too.
Best in the world
It’s a four-character idiom that describes a situation or thing so outstanding that nothing else in the world can compare.
Although the word is strongly associated with ramen, using it conveys strong confidence.
Since it means the best in the world, it’s used to refer to top-quality items.
It’s an easy phrase to use when promoting how wonderful you or what you have is, and to express strong confidence in it.
side-splitting laughter
What people find funny and laugh at varies from person to person, and their reactions have their own individuality.
One such reaction to laughter is a four-character idiom that describes laughing so hard you clutch your belly and almost fall over.
The expression originates from the ancient Chinese historical text Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), which conveys that laughter itself has a long history.
With its depiction of a big, expressive reaction, the word seems to convey happiness as well.