Les chengyu du chinois : caractérisation de phrasèmes hors norme

Abstract Whereas Western scholars have been studying polylexical sequences in European languages for a long time, we cannot but recognise that the investigation into Chinese phrasemes, on the other hand, still needs further development: research on idioms is limited to compiling glossaries and adopts an approach more prescriptive than descriptive, while explanations in specialised dictionaries merely give paraphrase meanings, etymology and very few usage examples. Considering the multiplicity of viewpoints and the abundance of confusing terminology that have prevailed in Chinese phraseological studies, it appears crucial to make an assessment. In this article, after a brief review of the literature in China, we will set out on bringing a new light on one type of phrasemes that is generally considered as one of the most representative in Chinese language, namely sizige chengyu – which we will call “four-syllable idioms” or simply chengyu.