24 words
| Word | Pinyin | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 一场空 | yī cháng kōng | all one's hopes and efforts come to nothing |
| 受挫 | shòu cuò | thwarted |
| 孤注一掷 | gū zhù yī zhì | to stake all on one throw |
| 差之毫厘，谬以千里 | chā zhī háo lí , miù yǐ qiān lǐ | the slightest difference leads to a huge error (idiom) |
| 得不偿失 | dé bù cháng shī | the gains do not make up for the losses (idiom) |
| 忙不迭 | máng bù dié | hurriedly |
| 成王败寇 | chéng wáng bài kòu | see 成則為王，敗則為寇|成则为王，败则为寇[cheng2 ze2 wei2 wang2 , bai4 ze2 wei2 kou4] |
| 拖后腿 | tuō hòu tuǐ | to impede |
| 望子成龙 | wàng zǐ chéng lóng | lit. to hope one's son becomes a dragon (idiom); fig. to long for one' s child to succeed in life |
| 烫手山芋 | tàng shǒu shān yù | hot potato |
| 争先恐后 | zhēng xiān kǒng hòu | striving to be first and fearing to be last (idiom) |
| 病态 | bìng tài | morbid or abnormal state |
| 虎头蛇尾 | hǔ tóu shé wěi | lit. tiger's head, snake's tail (idiom); fig. a strong start but weak finish |
| 鸡娃 | jī wá | ‘chicken babies’ |
| 小镇做题家 | xiǎo zhèn zuò tí jiā | small town expert test taker |
| 寒窗苦读 | hán chuāng kǔ dú | a hard-working student from a poor background |
| 刷题 | shuā tí | to answer a lot of exercise problems (to get prepared for an exam or test) |
| 烂尾娃 | làn wěi wá | unfinished kids |
| 脱下长衫 | tuō xià cháng shān | to step out of traditional roles or expectations for well-educated |
| 千军万马过独木桥 | qiān jūn wàn mǎ guò dú mù qiáo | thousands fighting over one opportunity |
| 实惨 | shí cǎn | truly unfortunate |
| 不上不下 | bù shàng bù xià | stuck in the middle |
| 躺平摆烂 | tǎng píng bǎi làn | lie flat and let go |
| 一口吃成胖子 | yī kǒu chī chéng pàng zi | want to achieve instant success |