# ChengYu - Daily Chinese Idioms — Learn Mandarin proverbs

> Daily Chinese idioms with pronunciation, explanations, and home screen widgets. (iPhone/iPad app by Wilson Lim Setiawan.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chengyu-daily-chinese-idioms/id6740611324 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Wilson Lim Setiawan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1721273145)
- Category: Education, Lifestyle
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.90/5 from 12 App Store ratings · 9 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.0 · 3 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2025-01-19
- Data updated: 2026-08-31
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chengyu-daily-chinese-idioms/id6740611324/reviews.md

## What is ChengYu?

One Chinese idiom a day, right on your home screen.

Chengyu (成语) are four-character idioms that carry centuries of Chinese history in a single phrase. ChengYu gives you one a day — with pinyin, meaning, a real example, and the story behind it.

WIDGETS THAT ACTUALLY TEACH YOU
Put a chengyu on your home screen in three sizes. Small shows the characters and pinyin, medium and large add the meaning and an example sentence. It changes at midnight, so you learn one without opening an app.

BOTH MEANINGS, YOUR CHOICE
Every idiom has a literal translation and a deeper meaning. 塞翁失马 literally means "the old man loses his horse" — but it really means misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. Show either, or show both, in the app and on your widgets.

SIMPLIFIED OR TRADITIONAL
Switch between 简体 and 繁體 characters at any time. Examples and descriptions switch with them.

HEAR IT SPOKEN
Tap to hear native Mandarin pronunciation of any idiom, with support for enhanced iOS voices.

BUILT FOR DAILY LEARNING
• A new idiom every day, plus the full history of past ones
• Save your favorites for review
• Real example sentences in Chinese and English
• The cultural story behind each idiom
• Share any idiom as an image

FREE, WITH NO ADS AND NO TRACKING
ChengYu is completely free. There are no ads, no accounts, no analytics, and nothing is collected about you. If you'd like to support development, there's an optional tip jar in Settings — it unlocks nothing, because everything is already unlocked.

Perfect for HSK students, heritage speakers, teachers, and anyone who wants a little more Chinese in their day.

## Key features

- Daily idiom with pinyin and translation
- Native Mandarin pronunciation
- Detailed idiom history and meaning
- Customizable home screen widgets
- Simplified and Traditional characters
- Offline functionality

## Recent user reviews (9 of 9)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chengyu-daily-chinese-idioms/id6740611324/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Great Idea AND Execution

*2026-08-28*

This is such a unique app idea - I couldn’t find any others that do anything like this! And you can even see all past idioms. This has also been great for my Japanese. I’ve been taking pictures of unfamiliar characters and searching them up. Occasionally, my “kanji scanner” can’t read a character because it’s written in an odd font, but I’ve still learned a ton of new characters!

### 4/5 — Almost perfect

*2026-07-28*

Love the design. Only two issues: 1. I can't seem to get the audio to work even after installing the voices. 2. I'd love to be able to show both literal and deeper meaning in the widgets.

**Developer response:** Have added both deeper and literal meanings, is the audio still bugged for you?

### 5/5 — Clean and Simple

*2026-05-22*

This app does what is intended so perfectly. The interface looks good while being simple and intuitive. I appreciate the favorites list and the home screen widget.

### 5/5 — Wonderful app

*2025-09-25, version 1.06*

Just what I was looking for. Bite sized education. Would be amazing if a voice translation was added to teach people how to pronounce properly.

### 5/5 — 繁體

*2025-06-03*

Hope we can have Traditional Chinese support in the future!

**Developer response:** Just implemented, hope you enjoy

### 5/5 — coolest guy in the room

*2025-01-24*

I’m obviously not chinese. but when with my chinese friends, I surprise them with these crazy idioms even they don’t know about and suddenly I’m the chinese rap god. all thanks to this app this is insane 🚀

### 5/5 — Aesthetic

*2025-01-20*

Great simple widget for my home screen

### 5/5 — Surprised my future in laws

*2025-01-20*

I’m from Nigeria and have never spoken a word of mandarin. I’m about to meet my Chinese gf’s parents for the first time so planning on whipping some of these idioms out in the middle of dinner. It’s too easyyy

### 5/5 — Great for learnig

*2025-01-19, version 1.0*

I recently started learning chinese and this app collates all chinese idioms for you so you can sound intelligent!

## Frequently asked questions about ChengYu

### What is the learning methodology of ChengYu?

ChengYu employs a daily learning approach, presenting one new Chinese idiom each day. This includes pinyin, English translation, native Mandarin pronunciation, and detailed historical explanations to facilitate understanding and retention.

### How does ChengYu track user progress?

While ChengYu focuses on daily exposure to idioms, it does not explicitly offer a formal progress tracking system. Users can gauge their learning by their familiarity with the idioms presented over time.

### Does ChengYu offer certifications?

ChengYu is designed for daily learning and cultural enrichment, not for formal academic study. Therefore, it does not offer any certifications upon completion of its content.

### What do users like most about ChengYu?

Users appreciate the app's focus on daily idioms, the inclusion of native Mandarin pronunciation with correct tones, and the helpful home screen widgets. The detailed explanations of idiom history also receive positive feedback.

### Is ChengYu suitable for beginners?

Yes, ChengYu is perfect for Chinese language learners at any level, including beginners. The daily presentation of idioms with translations and pronunciation support makes it accessible for those new to the language.

### How often is ChengYu updated?

The latest version of ChengYu is 1.91, last updated on January 21, 2026. While specific update frequency isn't detailed, the recent update suggests ongoing development and support.

### Does ChengYu have ads?

No, ChengYu does not contain advertisements. The app is completely free to use without any interruptions from ads.

### What devices does ChengYu support?

Currently, ChengYu is supported on iPhones. The app is designed to leverage iOS features, including home screen widgets.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.94 — 2026-08-28

Added a subtitle and expanded search coverage so more learners can find the app.

### 1.93 — 2026-08-20

• Fixed: character and meaning settings now apply to widgets. Changing simplified/traditional or literal/deeper in the app updates every widget right away.
• Fixed: pronunciation audio now plays even when your phone is on silent.
• New: show the literal meaning, the deeper meaning, or both at once — in the app and on widgets.
• New: an optional tip jar in Settings, for anyone who wants to support a free, ad-free app.

### 1.92 — 2026-04-30

Star your favorite idioms to have them at quick access!

### 1.91 — 2026-01-21

New idioms for 2026!

### 1.9 — 2025-12-04

The long awaited Pronunciation Feature!
  • Tap the speaker icon to hear any idiom pronounced in Mandarin Chinese
  • Native Chinese voice with correct tones - no more guessing pinyin!
  • Works offline with iOS built-in voices
  • Tip: Download an enhanced voice in Settings, Accessibility, Spoken
  Content for even clearer audio

  Available everywhere:
  • Main screen
  • Calendar history view
  • Idiom detail pages

  Check Settings to test your voice quality and get setup instructions.

## Apps similar to ChengYu

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Learn Chinese Slang](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-chinese-slang/id1667866363) | — | Free | Education |
| [Waabl](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/waabl/id1671041620) | 5.0 (4) | Free | Education |
| [Everyday Chengyu](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/everyday-chengyu/id6738624239) | — | Free | Education |
| [Learn Chinese: 1000 proverbs](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/learn-chinese-1000-proverbs/id499179348) | 4.5 (2) | $0.99 | Education |
| [Hanly](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hanly/id6741442324) | 4.9 (357) | Free | Education |
| [Daily Chinese: Grow Vocabulary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/daily-chinese-grow-vocabulary/id1468602303) | 4.6 (234) | Free | Education |

## More apps by Wilson Lim Setiawan

- [Sunbreak - 수면을 고치세요](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sunbreak/id6752121964)
- [ChindoSpeak - Mandarin & Indo](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chindospeak-mandarin-and-indo/id6770179868)

All apps by Wilson Lim Setiawan: https://appshunter.io/developer/1721273145

## Related topics

[chengyu](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/chengyu) · [1 day 1 chengyu](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/1-day-1-chengyu) · [everyday chengyu](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/everyday-chengyu) · [idioms chinese](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/idioms-chinese) · [idiomtastix chinese idioms](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/idiomtastix-chinese-idioms)

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-31.*