<p>In my mind, most well-educated individuals in China know the meaning of '杯弓蛇影' ，at least they heard about it (even do not fully understand the meaning.) </p>

<p>'杯弓蛇影' appears in our textbook of elementary school.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-13T18:57:20.460Z
alternate written form 盃弓蛇影 (same pronunciation)
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-14T03:52:35.747Z
I learned this idiom from my grade school text book, there's no reason for any Chinese to not know it.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-14T14:39:10.140Z
From this answer and other comments I have learnt that this chengyu is not in common parlance (i.e. not frequently used), but is taught in “elementary/grade” school - as a Brit I would say primary school. I believe many chengyu are more well-known and frequently used. For instance: 爱屋及乌; 半途而废 and 走马看花 - am I right?
Maybe this deserves a separate question about the usage frequency of some sample chengyus…
goPlayerJuggler
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-14T14:54:04.297Z
@goPlayerJuggler  Yeah, as you said, `半途而废` and `走马看花` are more visible in daily life than `杯弓蛇影`, especially in the oral expressions .
miaoever
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-08-13T18:15:27.590Z
2016-08-13T18:15:27.590Z
miaoever
<p>I like this 成语 and brought it up in a conversation, but the person I was speaking with (an expat Chinese) didn't know it. So I would like to know how well-known it is. Would a 10 year old in Beijing be likely to know it, for instance? Or, a primary school teacher, or a 20 year old science student?</p>

<vocabulary><chengyu>
How well-known is the expression 杯弓蛇影?
# How well-known is the expression 杯弓蛇影?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-08-13)

I like this 成语 and brought it up in a conversation, but the person I was speaking with (an expat Chinese) didn't know it. So I would like to know how well-known it is. Would a 10 year old in Beijing be likely to know it, for instance? Or, a primary school teacher, or a 20 year old science student?

**Tags:** vocabulary, chengyu


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-08-13. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

In my mind, most well-educated individuals in China know the meaning of '杯弓蛇影' ，at least they heard about it (even do not fully understand the meaning.)

'杯弓蛇影' appears in our textbook of elementary school.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: alternate written form 盃弓蛇影 (same pronunciation)  
> **username_3**: I learned this idiom from my grade school text book, there's no reason for any Chinese to not know it.  
> **username_0**: From this answer and other comments I have learnt that this chengyu is not in common parlance (i.e. not frequently used), but is taught in “elementary/grade” school - as a Brit I would say primary school. I believe many chengyu are more well-known and frequently used. For instance: 爱屋及乌; 半途而废 and 走马看花 - am I right? Maybe this deserves a separate question about the usage frequency of some sample chengyus…  
> **username_1**: @username_0  Yeah, as you said, `半途而废` and `走马看花` are more visible in daily life than `杯弓蛇影`, especially in the oral expressions .  

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