The idiomatic expressions are often used in daily conversations which can express the meanings intended to say indirectly. Usually speaking, there are two main characteristics in Chinese idiomatic expressions, namely, the unity of meaning and the stability of the structure. As a matter of fact, some of students who volunteer in China might be told that the meaning unity is the integrity in meaning. The meanings indicated by the idiomatic expressions are inseparable because they are not simply added together in the aspect of words meanings. And there are usually can’t be explained from the literary meanings.
When we use the idiomatic expressions, they have been transferred to a kind of abstract with profound meanings. For example, the expression 敲门砖 means literarily to knock the door with brick and it is threw when the door is opened. However, the profound level of meaning is to mean the primary means of obtaining fame and wealth or certain purposes. Another example is 炒鱿鱼which is to mean to fire the staffs because the sleeve fish is rolled up when it is fried, indicating to moving the bed out.
If you often learn Chinese for free with the method of talking with your Chinese friends, you may also often hear the idiomatic expression 半瓶醋which meant to laugh at the poor men of letters in the past because they used vinegar to represent the poor. However, in modern Chinese, it is to indicate those people who just know little about something, maybe knowledge or skills. Therefore, you can’t just understand the meanings of the idiomatic expressions in the literary level, but to understand from the whole integrity.
In order to consolidate the viewpoint in this aspect, the following parts will list more expressions often used in daily life will be illustrated. But we just understand them from the whole part. For example, 穿小鞋does not mean to wear the small shoes, but to use some bad means to harm somebody else of do something bad to the others. 枕头风is not the wind blows around the pillow, but the words said by the wife or husband which have great force to the opposite side. Since the idiomatic expressions are highly summarized, they all have obvious stability. However, they are not as strict as the set phrases. We can say碰钉子as碰了一大个钉子.