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?
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1I would tag this word as "not frequently used". In my region, there are some 10-year-old boy who know this well, but there are also some 20-year-old who have no idea what it means.– user13501Aug 13, 2016 at 17:30
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1 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.
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1I learned this idiom from my grade school text book, there's no reason for any Chinese to not know it.– Tang Ho ♦Aug 14, 2016 at 3:52
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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… Aug 14, 2016 at 14:39
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1@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 .– miaoeverAug 14, 2016 at 14:54