半瓶水响叮当
bàn​píng​shuǐ​xiǎng​dīng​dāng

empty vessels make the most noise

  • created sense approved 半瓶水响叮当/半瓶水響叮噹 · bàn​píng​shuǐ​xiǎng​dīng​dāng · empty vessels make the most noise — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    半瓶水响叮当 / 半瓶水響叮噹

    bàn​píng​shuǐ​xiǎng​dīng​dāng

    empty vessels make the most noise

    Literally means a half-empty bottle makes a loud sound; used as an idiom to describe a person who has only a little knowledge but likes to show it off, while those who are truly knowledgeable remain modest

    半 (literal) → 半 · bàn · half 瓶 (literal) → 瓶 · píng · [bottle] 水 (literal) → 水 · shuǐ · water 响叮当 (literal) → 响叮当/響叮噹 · xiǎng​dīng​dāng · to jingle

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense