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There are three basic types of Chinese idioms:

- Cheng Yu are usually four-letter phrases with a literary or historyical background.

- Xie Hou Yu are usually puns

- Miao Yu are more regional and folk-based.

An example of a Cheng Yu:
"Deluge like emptying bucket"

It has four characters, and creates its own imagery. Literary reference to a poem.

An example of a Xie Hou Yu:
"A Cat crying over a Rat--That's false Sympathy."

The defining characteristic of Xie Hou Yu is that there is a dash. The first part is a scenerio, the second part is the moral. Many of them are puns. For example, "Nephew lights a lantern -- illuminate Uncle (pun for "continue as before") o.O;;;

An example of a Miao Yu:

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