- 书生气 shūshēngqì bookishnessThe refined and scholarly air of an intellectual; equivalent to [[书卷气|書卷氣|shu1 juan4 qi4]]
- 白面书生 báimiànshūshēng pale-faced scholar(idiom) a young, refined-looking scholar who is physically weak or lacks practical life experience
- 文弱书生 wénruòshūshēng frail scholar(idiom) a gentle and physically weak scholar; a person with an effeminate or delicate appearance and manner
- 书生之见 shūshēngzhījiàn pedantic viewAn impractical or unrealistic opinion typical of a scholar who lacks worldly experience; often used to describe views that sound good in theory but are impossible to implement in practice