Xiēhòuyǔ 歇后语 enjoy widespread popularity in China. Xiēhòuyǔ, proverbial comparisons, are two-part, colloquial expressions that often have a joking, sometimes ironic undertone.
The first, figurative A-part is usually resolved in a surprising and witty way by the second B-part, which is only spoken after a short artificial pause. The "resolution" is often just the hook for a pun-like play on words. The pictures from the A part are "typically" Chinese: they mainly describe things from everyday Chinese life, but also historical or fictional people and events that are generally known in China. Xiēhòuyǔ places high demands on linguistic and extra-linguistic knowledge. Learning Chinese proverbs therefore contributes to a deeper understanding of China's history and culture.
Xiēhòuyǔ, which literally means "expression whose back part is omitted". However, both parts are usually pronounced. Only with particularly well-known xiēhòuyǔ is the second part not pronounced, similar to some proverbs in this country: "If you speak of the devil, ...".