Idioms are phrases that have developed over time to take on meanings that go beyond their literal definition. The funny coincidence is, despite the cultural and historical differences between Western countries and China, there are many English idioms similar in Chinese, even though the expressions are different too. For example:  You cannot judge a book by its cover 人不可貌相 ( rén bù kě mào xiāng )

You cannot judge a book by its cover, and you cannot judge a person by his looks. Both the Chinese and English version of this idiom tell us that we should not make shallow judgements about the value of something based on its appearance alone.

This idiom was famous in the 1940s after it was used in several texts released during this time. The meaning is that you cannot make a judgment about something just on its appearance.

人不可貌相, comes from the story of the Journey to the West 西游记written on Chapter 6 that 陛下，人不可貌相，海水不可斗量。( rén bù kě mào xiāng hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng ) Your Majesty,  you can't judge a person by their appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot.

人 ( rén ) : person

不 ( bù )  : not

可 ( kě )  : can

貌 ( mào ) : appearance

相 (xiāng ) : to judge by appearance

For example:

1. 安迪挺帅的，但是很自私。人不可貌相啊!

ān dí tǐng shuài de, dànshì hěn zìsī. rén bùkě màoxiàng a!

Andy is handsome but he is selfish. We cannot judge by one appearance.

2. 老师经常教导我们人不可貌相。

lǎoshī jīngcháng jiàodǎo wǒmen rén bùkě màoxiàng.

Teachers often teach us that we cannot judge a person by their appearance.

There are a lot of Chinese idioms we need to learn. Using Chinese idioms in our daily conversation is also great way to impress your Chinese friends even more with some other words that are special to Chinese, stay tune for more articles! )