Chinese has a huge number of short (4-syllable) metaphors, called Chengyu (成語), that get sprinkled into speech.[0]
It can be very confusing when you first encounter them, because the meaning is often far from obvious:
井底之蛙 = "Frog at the bottom of a well" = A person with a limited perspective.
完璧歸趙 = "Return jade intact to Zhao" = Return something intact to its rightful owner.
樂不思蜀 = "Happy, forget Shu" = Being content due to trivial pleasures, and forgetting where you came from.
畫蛇添足 = "Draw feet on a snake" = To superfluously add to something, or to go overboard. It has a negative connotation that due to initial successes, you've become overconfident, and could end up failing.
Then there are some idioms that are delightfully evocative:
掩耳盗铃 = "Cover ears, steal bell" = You can deceive yourself, but not others. The metaphor is of someone who is trying to steal a bell. The bell makes sound when moved, so the thief covers their own ears, as if that would stop others from hearing the bell.
I was reading about the heat wave in Europe today and the phrase “the mercury hit…” must seem so strange to a generation used to digital temperature readings who see no connection of the Liquid Metal to temps. It’s not quite a metaphor, but it’s this representation of meaning that gets further and further from its source.
"Draw feet on a snake" is my new favorite tech metaphor. eg. Dropbox adding an excess of new features unrelated to its core offering, or the reimagined lipstick on every new version of Windows.
If you shared my viewpoint (I recognize some may not) would those uses make sense to a native Chinese speaker?
It can be very confusing when you first encounter them, because the meaning is often far from obvious:
井底之蛙 = "Frog at the bottom of a well" = A person with a limited perspective.
完璧歸趙 = "Return jade intact to Zhao" = Return something intact to its rightful owner.
樂不思蜀 = "Happy, forget Shu" = Being content due to trivial pleasures, and forgetting where you came from.
畫蛇添足 = "Draw feet on a snake" = To superfluously add to something, or to go overboard. It has a negative connotation that due to initial successes, you've become overconfident, and could end up failing.
Then there are some idioms that are delightfully evocative:
掩耳盗铃 = "Cover ears, steal bell" = You can deceive yourself, but not others. The metaphor is of someone who is trying to steal a bell. The bell makes sound when moved, so the thief covers their own ears, as if that would stop others from hearing the bell.
0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengyu