| 成语 | chéng yǔ | Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation / idiom / proverb / saying / adage / CL:條|条[tiao2],本[ben3],句[ju4] |  |
| 名言 | míng yán | saying / famous remark | |
| 本来 | běn lái | original / originally / at first / it goes without saying / of course |  |
| 保留 | bǎo liú | to keep / to retain / to have reservations (about sth) / to hold back (from saying sth) / to put aside for later | |
| 可想而知 | kě xiǎng ér zhī | (idiom) (it) goes without saying / can well be imagined | |
| 显而易见 | xiǎn ér yì jiàn | clearly and easy to see (idiom) / obviously / clearly / it goes without saying | |
| 二话不说 | èr huà bù shuō | not saying anything further (idiom) / not raising any objection / without demur | |
| 畅所欲言 | chàng suǒ yù yán | lit. fluently saying all one wants (idiom) / to preach freely on one's favorite topic / to hold forth to one's heart's content | |
| 不言而喻 | bù yán ér yù | it goes without saying / it is self-evident | |
| 俗语 | sú yǔ | common saying / proverb / colloquial speech | |
| 口口声声 | kǒu kou shēng shēng | to keep on saying (idiom) / to repeat over and over again | |
| 老话 | lǎo huà | an old saying | |
| 口头禅 | kǒu tóu chán | Zen saying repeated as cant / (fig.) catchphrase / mantra / favorite expression / stock phrase | |
| 俗话 | sú huà | common saying / proverb | |
| 挂在嘴边 | guà zài zuǐ biān | to keep saying (sth) over and over | |
| 歇后语 | xiē hòu yǔ | anapodoton (a saying in which the second part, uttered after a pause or totally left out, is the intended meaning of the allegory presented in the first part) | |
| 不辞而别 | bù cí ér bié | to leave without saying good-bye | |
| 有道是 | yǒu dào shì | as they say, ... / as the saying goes, ... | |
| 言不由衷 | yán bù yóu zhōng | to say sth without meaning it (idiom) / to speak tongue in cheek / saying one thing but meaning sth different | |
| 至理名言 | zhì lǐ míng yán | wise saying / words of wisdom | |
| 常言 | cháng yán | common saying | |
| 那还用说 | nà hái yòng shuō | that goes without saying | |
| 隐讳 | yǐn huì | to hold back from saying precisely what is on one's mind | |
| 习语 | xí yǔ | common saying / idiom | |
| 生命在于运动 | shēng mìng zài yú yùn dòng | life is motion (popular saying with many possible interpretations) / Physical effort is vital for our bodies to function (Aristotle). / Life derives from physical exercise. | |
| 民谚 | mín yàn | folk saying / proverb | |
| 俗谚 | sú yàn | common saying / proverb | |
| 古谚 | gǔ yàn | ancient proverb / old saying | |
| 常言说得好 | cháng yán shuō de hǎo | as the saying goes / as they say... | |
| 农谚 | nóng yàn | farmers' saying | |
| 心口不一 | xīn kǒu bù yī | heart and mouth at variance (idiom) / keeping one's real intentions to oneself / saying one thing but meaning sth different | |
| 胡诌乱扯 | hú zhōu luàn chě | to talk nonsense (idiom) / saying whatever comes into his head | |
| 胡诌乱道 | hú zhōu luàn dào | to talk nonsense (idiom) / saying whatever comes into his head | |
| 自不必说 | zì bù bì shuō | (idiom) needless to say / it goes without saying | |
| 不待说 | bù dài shuō | needless to say / it goes without saying | |
| 不说自明 | bù shuō zì míng | goes without saying / obvious / self-evident | |
| 但说无妨 | dàn shuō wú fáng | there is no harm in saying what one thinks (idiom) | |
| 冰炭不言，冷热自明 | bīng tàn bù yán , lěng rè zì míng | ice or coals, whether hot or cold goes without saying (idiom) / fig. sincerity is not expressed in words | |
| 爱莫大于心死 | ài mò dà yú xīn sǐ | nothing more sad than a withered heart / no greater sorrow than a heart that never rejoices / (popular culture misquotation of 哀莫大於心死|哀莫大于心死, saying attributed to Confuciu | |
| 成语典故 | chéng yǔ diǎn gù | historical or literary anecdote that gives rise to a saying | |
| 浮词 | fú cí | florid but insubstantial remarks / misleading way of saying sth | |
| 尽言 | jìn yán | saying everything / to speak out fully | |
| 表里不一 | biǎo lǐ bù yī | outside appearance and inner reality differ (idiom) / not what it seems / saying one thing but meaning sth different | |
| 话到嘴边 | huà dào zuǐ biān | to be on the verge of saying what is on one's mind | |
| 语云 | yǔ yún | as the saying goes... | |
| 说是一回事，做又是另外一回事 | shuō shì yī huí shì , zuò yòu shì lìng wài yī huí shì | Saying is one thing, doing quite another (idiom) | |
| 五福临门 | wǔ fú lín mén | lit. (may the) five blessings descend upon this home (namely: longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a natural death) / (an auspicious saying for the Lunar New Year) | |
| 年年有馀 | nián nián yǒu yú | lit. (may you) have abundance year after year / (an auspicious saying for the Lunar New Year) | |
| 俚谚 | lǐ yàn | common saying / folk proverb | |
| 里谚 | lǐ yàn | common saying / folk proverb | |
| 自不待言 | zì bù dài yán | needless to say / it goes without saying | |
| 年年有余 | nián nián yǒu yú | lit. (may you) have abundance year after year / (an auspicious saying for the Lunar New Year) | |
| 不用说 | bù yòng shuō | needless to say / it goes without saying | |
| 不管白猫黑猫，捉住老鼠就是好猫 | bù guǎn bái māo hēi māo , zhuō zhù lǎo shǔ jiù shì hǎo māo | it doesn't matter whether a cat is white or black / as long as it catches mice it's a good cat (variant of a Sichuanese saying used in a speech by Deng Xiaoping 鄧小平|邓小平[Deng4 Xiao3 ping2] in 1962, usually associated with his economic reforms starting in 1978, in which pragmatism was favored over ideological purity) | |
| 回过头来 | huí guò tóu lái | to turn one's head / to turn around / (fig.) to return (to a previous point) / to come back (to what one was saying before) / (fig.) to look back (in time) / to reflect on the past | |
| 二话不说 | èr huà - bù shuō | (idiom) not saying anything further / not raising any objection / without demur | |
| 嘴贱 | zuǐ jiàn | prone to saying sth inappropriate or offensive | |
| 小作怡情，大作伤身 | xiǎo zuō - yí qíng , dà zuō - shāng shēn | an occasional display of histrionics can add a playful element to a relationship, but overdoing it can lead to a breakup (admonishment derived from the saying 小酌怡情，大酌傷身|小酌怡情，大酌伤身[xiao3zhuo2-yi2qing2, da4zhuo2-shang1shen1]) | |
| 鸡犬升天 | jī quǎn - shēng tiān | lit. (when a person attains enlightenment and immortality), even his chickens and dogs will ascend to heaven with him (idiom) / fig. (when somebody attains a position of power and influence), their relatives and friends also benefit / (2nd half of the saying 一人得道，雞犬升天|一人得道，鸡犬升天[yi1ren2-de2dao4, ji1quan3-sheng1tian1]) | |
