yī​lì​lǎo​shǔ​shǐ​huài​le​yī​guō​zhōu

one bad apple spoils the bunch

Senses

一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥/ 一粒老鼠屎壞了一鍋粥 yī​lì​lǎo​shǔ​shǐ​huài​le​yī​guō​zhōu one bad apple spoils the bunch

Literally means one pellet of rat droppings ruined a whole pot of congee; used to describe how one small negative element or person can ruin something otherwise good.

References

see 一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤/一顆老鼠屎壞了一鍋湯 一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥/一粒老鼠屎壞了一鍋粥