華而不實
huá'ér​bù​shí

flashy and without substance

  • created sense approved 华而不实/華而不實 · huá'ér​bù​shí · flashy and without substance — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    华而不实 / 華而不實

    huá'ér​bù​shí

    flashy and without substance

    literally meaning "flowers but no fruit"; used to describe something with a handsome exterior but hollow inside or someone who is superficially clever

    华 (literal) → 华/華 · huā · flower 而 (literal) → 而 · ér · but 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 实 (literal) → 实/實 · shí · fruit

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

    created sense