买椟还珠 mǎi dú huán zhū
Chengyu
成语
买椟还珠
mǎi dú huán zhū
Meaning: to buy a wooden box and return the pearls inside / to show poor judgement (idiom)
買 = buy, purchase; bribe, persuade
櫝 = cabinet, wardrobe; closet
還 = still, yet, also, besides
珠 = precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl
Dictionary of 1,000 Chinese Idioms
Marjorie Lin (Author)
Four-character idioms (know as "chengyu") are key ingredients of the Chinese language. The authors have selected 1,000 of the most frequently used idioms, listing them in alphabetical order with Pinyin transcription, while providing the equivalent English translation and the original Chinese characters. This is an essential book for any serious student of the Chinese language, as well as for Chinese speakers studying English as a second language.
ABC Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs
John S. Rohsenow (Author)
Rohsenow has collected and codified hundreds of proverbs from the Chinese peasant oral tradition in this volume. These proverbs are not Chengyu from the great literary works and are seldom seen in written form. The introduction includes an extremely insightful take on the subtle differences between proverbs, idioms and other devices in Chinese language and how they reflect on the culture as a whole.
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