白圭之玷
bái​guī​zhī​diàn

a flaw in a piece of white jade

  • created sense approved 白圭之玷 · bái​guī​zhī​diàn · a flaw in a piece of white jade — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    白圭之玷

    bái​guī​zhī​diàn

    a flaw in a piece of white jade

    A flaw in an otherwise perfect piece of white jade; used as a metaphor for a minor defect in something or someone that is otherwise excellent, specifically referring to damage caused by careless speech.

    白圭 (literal) → 白圭 · bái​guī · white jade 之 (literal) → 之 · zhī · [possessive] 玷 (literal) → 玷 · diàn · blemish

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

    created sense