<p>It seems that there are two types of 成语 represented by the same “structure”.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A而B之 could mean “action + action, done to something (third person pronoun)”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>取而代之 means “to take and replace 之 (something that was previously mentioned)”. Compare this to 取代, which simply means “replace”. You could consider 取而代之 a literary form of 取代; using it adds elegance to an otherwise common word. Other examples include 换而言之、敬而远之 and 分而治之.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A而B之 could also mean “adjective + adjective, used to describe something (third person pronoun)”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>堂而皇之 means that something (之) is “wide like a hall and grand like imperial edifices”. Similarly, this can be considered a literary form of 堂皇. I would say 久而久之 has similar characteristics, but note that the 久 is describing <strong>a long period of time</strong>, instead of the appearance or a quality of an object.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-20T16:35:12.627Z
2020-07-20T16:40:34.150Z
2020-07-20T16:40:34.150Z
Axel Tong
<p>Axel Tong answered A而B之 perfectly. I would address some other idiom structures not mentioned in the question</p>
<p>Becky 李蓓 wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Note that x而y之 is just one example, and there are others like 千x万y</p>
</blockquote>
<ol>
<li><p>[(adjective A) + (noun A) + (adjective B) + (noun B)] / Example: 千丝万缕，如狼似虎</p>
</li>
<li><p>[(adverb A) + (adjective A) + (adverb B) + (adjective B)] / Example: 穷凶极恶，巨奸大恶</p>
</li>
<li><p>[adverb A] + [(verb A) + (adverb B) + (verb B)] / Example: 穷追猛打，虚打假闘</p>
</li>
<li><p>[(verb A) + (adverb A) + (verb B) + (adverb B)] / Example: 赶尽杀绝，看惯见熟</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>In the four structures above, the relationship between (A) and (B) are either being similar or being one half of a split-up compound word</p>
<p>千万 丝缕 --&gt; 千丝万缕</p>
<p>如似 狼虎 --&gt; 如狼似虎</p>
<p>穷极 凶恶 --&gt; 穷凶极恶</p>
<p>巨大 奸恶 --&gt; 巨奸大恶</p>
<p>穷猛 追打 --&gt; 穷追猛打</p>
<p>虚假 打闘 --&gt; 虚打假闘</p>
<p>赶杀 尽绝 --&gt; 赶尽杀绝</p>
<p>看见 惯熟 --&gt; 看惯见熟</p>
<p>Studying the examples about, you can apply the same structure to coin new idiomatic phrases out of the common compound words that contain two characters that have a similar, identical or opposite meaning</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>粉碎 身(体) 骨(骼) --&gt; 粉身碎骨</p>
<p>超赶 英美 --&gt; 超英赶美</p>
<p>忽然 冷热 --&gt; 忽冷忽热</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-20T23:24:59.560Z
2020-07-20T23:24:59.560Z
Tang Ho
<p>In <a href="https://www.sohu.com/a/404432892_120685201?scm=1002.44003c.17c024e.PC_ARTICLE_REC&amp;spm=smpc.content.fd-d.3.1595225010020UuwenVD&amp;_f=index_pagerecom_3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">today's reading</a>, I encountered the expression <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E6%95%AC%E8%80%8C%E8%BF%9C%E4%B9%8B" rel="nofollow noreferrer">敬而远之</a>.  However, I noticed this <code>x而y之</code> structure is repeated in many other 4-character expressions (Pleco search <code>?而?之</code>):</p>
<pre><code>敬而远之
大而化之
等而下之
分而治之
换而言之
久而久之
取而代之
堂而皇之
</code></pre>
<p>Thus, it seems I should study how such structures work and thereby learn whole families of 4-character expressions at a time.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: What are the repeatedly used structures in 4-character expressions (e.g. chengyu) and what do they mean?</p>
<p>I'm seeking a kind of overview of major structures (those that occur in multiple 4-character expressions, like <code>x而y之</code> above) for 4-character expressions, and a brief explanation as to how to interpret them.  It looks like <code>x而y之</code> is an adjective that combines <code>x</code> and <code>y</code>.</p>
<p>Note that <code>x而y之</code> is just one example, and there are others like <code>千x万y</code> (see also <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/6032/chengyu-with-two-numbers">Chengyu with two numbers</a>).</p>
<p>(Whenever I look up chengyu on the web, I find pages like <a href="https://speechling.com/blog/guide-to-chinese-idioms-and-chengyu/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> and <a href="https://www.travelchinacheaper.com/chinese-idioms" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> which give a handful of common but disparate examples, making them very difficult to actually remember.)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-20T17:25:39.633Z
Related: https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/32158/is-%e4%b8%8d-a-%e4%b8%8d-b-a-grammatical-structure-like-%e5%8f%88-a-%e5%8f%88-b
Ben Jackson
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-21T18:46:15.207Z
I just found others:X 而不 Y.
Enrico Brasil
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-24T14:21:48.210Z
Related: [Words related to several 成语 (via 《AB》 → 《-A-B》)](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/33590/words-related-to-several-%e6%88%90%e8%af%ad-via-ab-%e2%86%92-a-b)
Becky 李蓓
<meaning><expressions><chengyu>
What are the repeatedly used structures in 4-character expressions (e.g. chengyu) and what do they mean?
# What are the repeatedly used structures in 4-character expressions (e.g. chengyu) and what do they mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-20)

In [today's reading](https://www.sohu.com/a/404432892_120685201?scm=1002.44003c.17c024e.PC_ARTICLE_REC&spm=smpc.content.fd-d.3.1595225010020UuwenVD&_f=index_pagerecom_3), I encountered the expression [敬而远之](http://youdao.com/w/%E6%95%AC%E8%80%8C%E8%BF%9C%E4%B9%8B). However, I noticed this `x而y之` structure is repeated in many other 4-character expressions (Pleco search `?而?之`):

```
敬而远之
大而化之
等而下之
分而治之
换而言之
久而久之
取而代之
堂而皇之

```

Thus, it seems I should study how such structures work and thereby learn whole families of 4-character expressions at a time.

**Question**: What are the repeatedly used structures in 4-character expressions (e.g. chengyu) and what do they mean?

I'm seeking a kind of overview of major structures (those that occur in multiple 4-character expressions, like `x而y之` above) for 4-character expressions, and a brief explanation as to how to interpret them. It looks like `x而y之` is an adjective that combines `x` and `y`.

Note that `x而y之` is just one example, and there are others like `千x万y` (see also [Chengyu with two numbers](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/6032/chengyu-with-two-numbers)).

(Whenever I look up chengyu on the web, I find pages like [this](https://speechling.com/blog/guide-to-chinese-idioms-and-chengyu/) and [this](https://www.travelchinacheaper.com/chinese-idioms) which give a handful of common but disparate examples, making them very difficult to actually remember.)

**Tags:** meaning, expressions, chengyu

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Related: https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/32158/is-%e4%b8%8d-a-%e4%b8%8d-b-a-grammatical-structure-like-%e5%8f%88-a-%e5%8f%88-b  
> **username_2**: I just found others:X 而不 Y.  
> **username_0**: Related: [Words related to several 成语 (via 《AB》 → 《-A-B》)](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/33590/words-related-to-several-%e6%88%90%e8%af%ad-via-ab-%e2%86%92-a-b)  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-07-20. Score: 3

It seems that there are two types of 成语 represented by the same “structure”.

> A而B之 could mean “action + action, done to something (third person pronoun)”.

取而代之 means “to take and replace 之 (something that was previously mentioned)”. Compare this to 取代, which simply means “replace”. You could consider 取而代之 a literary form of 取代; using it adds elegance to an otherwise common word. Other examples include 换而言之、敬而远之 and 分而治之.

> A而B之 could also mean “adjective + adjective, used to describe something (third person pronoun)”.

堂而皇之 means that something (之) is “wide like a hall and grand like imperial edifices”. Similarly, this can be considered a literary form of 堂皇. I would say 久而久之 has similar characteristics, but note that the 久 is describing **a long period of time**, instead of the appearance or a quality of an object.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-07-20. Score: 2

username_3 answered A而B之 perfectly. I would address some other idiom structures not mentioned in the question

username_0 李蓓 wrote:

> Note that x而y之 is just one example, and there are others like 千x万y

1. [(adjective A) + (noun A) + (adjective B) + (noun B)] / Example: 千丝万缕，如狼似虎
2. [(adverb A) + (adjective A) + (adverb B) + (adjective B)] / Example: 穷凶极恶，巨奸大恶
3. [adverb A] + [(verb A) + (adverb B) + (verb B)] / Example: 穷追猛打，虚打假闘
4. [(verb A) + (adverb A) + (verb B) + (adverb B)] / Example: 赶尽杀绝，看惯见熟

In the four structures above, the relationship between (A) and (B) are either being similar or being one half of a split-up compound word

千万 丝缕 --> 千丝万缕

如似 狼虎 --> 如狼似虎

穷极 凶恶 --> 穷凶极恶

巨大 奸恶 --> 巨奸大恶

穷猛 追打 --> 穷追猛打

虚假 打闘 --> 虚打假闘

赶杀 尽绝 --> 赶尽杀绝

看见 惯熟 --> 看惯见熟

Studying the examples about, you can apply the same structure to coin new idiomatic phrases out of the common compound words that contain two characters that have a similar, identical or opposite meaning

Example:

粉碎 身(体) 骨(骼) --> 粉身碎骨

超赶 英美 --> 超英赶美

忽然 冷热 --> 忽冷忽热


---

