Beyond Translations

成语

Chéng yǔ

Idioms

Idioms are phrases and expressions that have figurative meanings that differ from the literal meanings of the words. Understanding idioms is instrumental to mastering a language as it allows you to speak with more nuance and have a better understanding of the culture of the language you are learning. Mandarin consists of thousands of these 成语, and each phrase has its own story, that reveals a key element of Chinese culture. 

Beyond Translations will introduce a new idiom each week as part of our mission to create better cultural understanding. 

一丝不苟

yī sī bù gǒu

“ Not one loose thread”

This idiom is used to describe something that is done meticulously and with extreme thoroughness. 

The origins of this idiom come from China’s rich history of silk and textile production. When silk weaving, a single loose thread could mess up the whole process and ruin all of the progress. In order to make sure that the textiles were produced with high quality, and not destroyed, a great amount of focus and attention to detail was needed. 

This history is seen in the characters themselves. 一 means “one”, 丝 means “silk”, and 不够 means “not enough”. Together these characters mean “ not a single silk thread is loose”. 

As a result of the importance of paying attention to silk production, Chinese culture began to emphasize perfectionism in craftsmanship as well as all other aspects of life. This can be seen today with Chinese chefs’ extreme dedication to producing high quality dishes, such as Peking Duck, as well as Chinese scientists’ commitment to conducting extremely thorough research. In modern times, the phrase “一些不够”  is used as a way to describe a task that was done with extreme precision and that produced something of high quality.