朽木不可雕
xiǔ​mù​bù​kě​diāo

you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

  • created reference approved 朽木不可雕 → 朽木不可雕也 (variant) — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    朽木不可雕 xiǔ​mù​bù​kě​diāo

    朽木不可雕也 xiǔ​mù​bù​kě​diāo​yě

    variant

    Changed: source (simp), source (trad), source pinyin, target (simp), target (trad), target pinyin, type

    created reference

  • created sense approved 朽木不可雕 · xiǔ​mù​bù​kě​diāo · you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    朽木不可雕

    xiǔ​mù​bù​kě​diāo

    you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

    (idiom) literally "rotten wood cannot be carved," meaning a person is so worthless or stubborn that they cannot be taught or improved; used to describe someone who is beyond help or lacks any potential

    朽木 (literal) → 朽木 · xiǔ​mù · rotten wood 不可 (literal) → 不可 · bù​kě · cannot 雕 (literal) → 雕 · diāo · to carve

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

    created sense