<p>There are a lot of terms that come with a back story, but they are not  chengyu</p>
<p>知音 is not an idiom (成語)， it is a literary word (文學詞)</p>
<p>Other examples:</p>
<p>伯樂 was a man who could pick out fine horses in the Spring and Autumn Period. His name is now a term for &quot;the one with good eyes for talents&quot;. Yet, you can't say 伯樂 is a chengyu.</p>
<p>知己(the one who knows me) came from a chengyu <a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A3%AB%E4%B8%BA%E7%9F%A5%E5%B7%B1%E8%80%85%E6%AD%BB/10860261" rel="nofollow noreferrer">士为知己者死</a>, but 知己 itself is not qualified to be a chengyu</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-01-15T04:27:52.267Z
2024-01-15T05:40:25.417Z
2024-01-15T05:40:25.417Z
Tang Ho
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E7%9F%A5%E9%9F%B3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CC-CEDICT</a>: 知音 (zhī​yīn​) intimate friend / soul mate</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The above word has the hallmarks associated with chengyu (idioms): (a) it has an ancient background story, reflecting the close friendship between 俞伯牙 and 钟子期, (b) its characters allude to the backstory, rather than its literal meaning.</p>
<p>I don't believe there's a restriction that chengyu has a certain number of characters.  I recall <a href="https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E4%B8%9C%E9%81%93%E4%B8%BB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">东道主</a> being considered a chengyu, with similar justification to above.</p>
<p>Thus I think 知音 is a chengyu, and perhaps the shortest possible chengyu.  Still, I'm hardly an authority of what is or isn't a chengyu.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Is 知音 a 2-character chengyu?</p>

<chengyu>
Is 知音 a 2-character chengyu?
# Is 知音 a 2-character chengyu?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-01-15)

> [CC-CEDICT](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E7%9F%A5%E9%9F%B3): 知音 (zhī​yīn​) intimate friend / soul mate

The above word has the hallmarks associated with chengyu (idioms): (a) it has an ancient background story, reflecting the close friendship between 俞伯牙 and 钟子期, (b) its characters allude to the backstory, rather than its literal meaning.

I don't believe there's a restriction that chengyu has a certain number of characters. I recall [东道主](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?wdqb=%E4%B8%9C%E9%81%93%E4%B8%BB) being considered a chengyu, with similar justification to above.

Thus I think 知音 is a chengyu, and perhaps the shortest possible chengyu. Still, I'm hardly an authority of what is or isn't a chengyu.

**Question**: Is 知音 a 2-character chengyu?

**Tags:** chengyu

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-01-15. Score: 1

There are a lot of terms that come with a back story, but they are not chengyu

知音 is not an idiom (成語)， it is a literary word (文學詞)

Other examples:

伯樂 was a man who could pick out fine horses in the Spring and Autumn Period. His name is now a term for "the one with good eyes for talents". Yet, you can't say 伯樂 is a chengyu.

知己(the one who knows me) came from a chengyu [士为知己者死](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A3%AB%E4%B8%BA%E7%9F%A5%E5%B7%B1%E8%80%85%E6%AD%BB/10860261), but 知己 itself is not qualified to be a chengyu


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