Chinese symbol for “adage”

成语

chéng yǔ

Traditional: 成語

Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation; idiom; proverb; saying; adage; 条 (tiáo),本 (běn),句 (jù)

The closest CC-CEDICT match for adage is 成语 (chéng yǔ), defined as: Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation; idiom; proverb; saying; adage; 条 (tiáo),本 (běn),句 (jù).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

成 chéng

to accomplish; to become; to complete, to finish; to succeed

radical 62 ⼽ · 7 strokes

语 yǔ

words, language; saying, expression

radical 149 ⾔ · 9 strokes

Traditional forms

語 yǔ

Related words

Other words that share a character with 成语.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
成为 (成為)	chéng wéi	to become; to turn into
完成	wán chéng	to complete; to accomplish
成功	chéng gōng	to succeed; success
成立	chéng lì	to establish; to set up
造成	zào chéng	to bring about; to create; to cause
成员 (成員)	chéng yuán	member
语言 (語言)	yǔ yán	language; 门 (mén),种 (zhǒng)
语音 (語音)	yǔ yīn	speech sounds; pronunciation

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.