| 心路 | xīn lù | scheme / artifice / tolerance / intention / motive / train of thought / brains / wit / ideas |   |
| 脑瓜 | nǎo guā | skull / brain / head / mind / mentality / ideas | |
| 创新 | chuàng xīn | innovation / to bring forth new ideas / to blaze new trails | |
| 开通 | kāi tōng | to open up (windows for air, ideas for discussion, transportation routes etc) | |
| 层次 | céng cì | layer / level / gradation / arrangement of ideas / (a person's) standing | |
| 摆脱 | bǎi tuō | to break away from / to cast off (old ideas etc) / to get rid of / to break away (from) / to break out (of) / to free oneself from / to extricate oneself | |
| 误区 | wù qū | mistaken ideas / misconceptions / the error of one's ways | |
| 产出 | chǎn chū | to produce (graduates, breast milk, toxic waste, creative ideas etc) / output | |
| 高招 | gāo zhāo | wise move / masterstroke / bright ideas | |
| 眉目 | méi mù | general facial appearance / features / arrangement / sequence of ideas / logic (of writing) / rough sketch or general idea of things | |
| 游说 | yóu shuì | to lobby / to campaign / to promote (an idea, a product) / (old) to visit various rulers and promote one's political ideas (in the Warring States period) | |
| 建言 | jiàn yán | to make a suggestion / to state (one's views, ideas etc) / suggestion / advice / idea | |
| 商榷 | shāng què | to discuss / to bring up various ideas for discussion | |
| 出谋划策 | chū móu huà cè | to put forward plans and ideas (also derogatory) / to give advice (idiom) | |
| 边儿 | biān r | side / edge / margin / border / boundary / proximity / thread (of ideas, plots etc) / see also 邊|边[bian1] | |
| 一脉相承 | yī mài xiāng chéng | traceable to the same stock (idiom) / of a common origin (of trends, ideas etc) | |
| 新思想 | xīn sī xiǎng | new ideas | |
| 迂腐 | yū fǔ | pedantic / trite / inflexible / adherence to old ideas | |
| 脱胎 | tuō tāi | to be born / (fig.) to develop out of sth else (of ideas, stories, political systems etc) / (fig.) to shed one's body (to be reborn) / bodiless (e.g. lacquerware) | |
| 达意 | dá yì | to express or convey one's ideas | |
| 理解力 | lǐ jiě lì | ability to grasp ideas / understanding | |
| 心眼儿 | xīn yǎn r | one's thoughts / mind / intention / willingness to accept new ideas / baseless suspicions | |
| 众说 | zhòng shuō | various ideas / diverse opinions | |
| 少壮派 | shào zhuàng pài | young guard / young and vigorous group with new ideas / new wave | |
| 故步自封 | gù bù zì fēng | stuck in the old ways (idiom) / refusing to acknowledge new ideas / stagnating and conservative | |
| 抛砖引玉 | pāo zhuān yǐn yù | lit. throw out a brick and get jade thrown back (idiom) / fig. to attract others' interest or suggestions by putting forward one's own modest ideas to get the ball rolling | |
| 借题发挥 | jiè tí fā huī | to use the current topic to put over one's own ideas / to use sth as a pretext to make a fuss | |
| 切磋琢磨 | qiē cuō zhuó mó | lit. cutting and polishing (idiom) / fig. to learn by exchanging ideas or experiences | |
| 翻空出奇 | fān kōng chū qí | to overturn empty convention, and display originality (idiom) / new and different ideas | |
| 虚己以听 | xū jǐ yǐ tīng | to listen to the ideas of others with an open mind (idiom) | |
| 引玉之砖 | yǐn yù zhī zhuān | lit. a brick thrown to prompt others to produce a jade (idiom) / fig. a modest suggestion intended to prompt others to come forward with better ideas | |
| 不撞南墙不回头 | bù zhuàng nán qiáng bù huí tóu | to stubbornly insist on one's own ideas (idiom) | |
| 取其精华，去其糟粕 | qǔ qí jīng huá , qù qí zāo pò | take the cream, discard the dross (political and educational slogan) / keep what is good, discard the rest / You need to be selective when studying. / In modernizing the country, don't accept uncritically all foreign ideas. | |
| 对比联想 | duì bǐ lián xiǎng | word association / association of ideas | |
| 崇洋媚外 | chóng yáng mèi wài | to revere everything foreign and pander to overseas powers (idiom) / blind worship of foreign goods and ideas | |
| 思想交流 | sī xiǎng jiāo liú | exchange of ideas | |
| 推陈布新 | tuī chén bù xīn | to push out the old and bring in the new (idiom) / to innovate / to go beyond old ideas / advancing all the time | |
| 春秋大梦 | chūn qiū dà mèng | grand dreams / unrealistic ideas (idiom) | |
| 渊虑 | yuān lu:4 | profound thoughts or ideas | |
| 发想 | fā xiǎng | to come up with an idea / generation of ideas / inspiration | |
| 衍化 | yǎn huà | to evolve (of ideas, designs, constructions etc) / to develop and change | |
| 集恩广益 | jí ēn guǎng yì | to pool knowledge and ideas to produce a better outcome | |
| 革新能手 | gé xīn néng shǒu | person of new ideas / innovator | |
| 中亚宽容思想和早期预防冲突会议 | | Conference on Ideas of Tolerance in Central Asia and Early Prevention of Conflicts | |
| 点子数据库 | | Ideas Data Bank | |
| 脱亚入欧 | tuō Yà rù Oū | to abandon the old (Asian) ways and learn from Europe / refers to the ideas that led to the Meiji Restoration and Japan's subsequent colonization projects in Asia | |
| 脑洞大开 | nǎo dòng dà kāi | imaginative / to have one's mind buzzing with ideas | |
| 开脑洞 | kāi nǎo dòng | to blow people's minds with highly imaginative, bizarre ideas | |
| 融梗 | róng gěng | (neologism c. 2018) to incorporate ideas or material from sb else's creative work in one's own work | |
| 出主意 | chū zhǔ yi | to come up with ideas / to make suggestions / to offer advice | |
| 东风压倒西风 | dōng fēng yā dǎo xī fēng | lit. the east wind prevails over the west wind (idiom) / fig. one side prevails over the other / progressive ideas prevail over reactionary ones | |
