升堂入室 — Chinese idiom

Meaning

• lit. to reach the main room and enter the chamber
• fig. to gradually attain proficiency
• to attain a higher level

Character by character

• 升shēngto advance; to arise; to hoist, to raise
• 堂tánghall, large room; government office; cousins
• 入rùto enter, to come in; to join
• 室shìhouse, home; room, chamber

Idioms sharing a character

• 升官发财 shēng guān fā cái
• 升斗小民 shēng dǒu xiǎo mín
• 四海升平 sì hǎi shēng píng
• 明升暗降 míng shēng àn jiàng
• 歌舞升平 gē wǔ shēng píng
• 鸡犬升天 jī quǎn shēng tiān
• 冠冕堂皇 guān miǎn táng huáng
• 哄堂大笑 hōng táng dà xiào
• 四世同堂 sì shì tóng táng
• 坐不垂堂 zuò bù chuí táng

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3). Retrieved 2026-10-22.