4 characters Idiom and proverb 28 915

Idioms like 「雞鳴候旦」 are key to mastering Chinese. Start from characters, climb to idioms, and explore them with this free resource.

This feature highlights the idiom 「雞鳴候旦」, with its meaning and examples shown below.

For fear of missing dawn and delaying work, he got up before daybreak. Same as “cock crows and dawn breaks”.

The Mandarin pronunciation of this idiom is :

jī míng hòu dàn

while its Cantonese pinyin is :

gai1 ming4 hau6 daan3

Chinese idioms are vast in number, each carrying unique meanings and usages. With such variety, there’s a lot to learn and appreciate. Hopefully, these resources will aid you on your journey to mastering Chinese.