买椟还珠mǎi dú huán zhūto show poor judgment

1. 1.

   to show poor judgmentidiom

Figurative meaning

To show poor judgment.

Literal meaning

To buy a wooden box and return the pearls inside.

• 买to buy
• 椟case
• 还to return
• 珠pearl

The story

A man of Zheng bought the box and gave back the pearl.

买椟还珠 can describe choosing the outside or a minor detail of something over what is actually valuable.

1. HSK 5

   只看包装不看内容，就是买椟还珠。

   Zhǐ kàn bāozhuāng bú kàn nèiróng, jiùshì mǎi dú huán zhū.

   Looking only at the packaging and not at the contents is showing poor judgment.

2. HSK 4

   他选了漂亮的盒子，不要里面的东西，真是买椟还珠。

   Tā xuǎn le piàoliang de hézi, bú yào lǐmiàn de dōngxi, zhēn shì mǎi dú huán zhū.

   He picked the pretty box and didn't want what was inside. That really is poor judgment.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   这个礼物的盒子真漂亮！

   Zhège lǐwù de hézi zhēn piàoliang!

   The box for this gift is really pretty!

2. 
   Speaker B:

   里面的东西你看了吗？

   Lǐmiàn de dōngxi nǐ kàn le ma?

   Did you look at what's inside?

3. 
   Speaker A:

   还没有，我只喜欢盒子。

   Hái méiyǒu, wǒ zhǐ xǐhuan hézi.

   Not yet, I only like the box.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   别买椟还珠，先看看里面吧。

   Bié mǎi dú huán zhū, xiān kànkan lǐmiàn ba.

   Don't show poor judgment. Look inside first.

1. 1.What does 买椟还珠 mean?

   ATo show poor judgmentBTo return a gift politelyCTo buy something expensive
2. 2.Which sentence uses 买椟还珠 correctly?

   A只要包装，不要东西，这是买椟还珠。B今天天气很买椟还珠。C他买椟还珠地跑步。
3. 3.Which word fits best? 只看盒子不看东西，真是____。 (Looking only at the box and not the item is really poor judgment.)

   A买椟还珠B负荆请罪C半斤八两

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