諺語 · a single proverb

人rén不bù可kě貌mào相xiāng，海hǎi水shuǐ不bù可kě斗dǒu量liáng

rén bù kě mào xiāng hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng

What does 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量 (rén bù kě mào xiāng hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng) mean?

人不可貌相，海水不可斗量 (rén bù kě mào xiāng hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "person cannot be judged by appearance, seawater cannot be measured by a ladle." In use it means: Don't judge by appearances; what seems small may be vast. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Pig.

Literally: "person cannot be judged by appearance, seawater cannot be measured by a ladle."

The reading

The ladle returned from the ocean is not wrong-it contains seawater-but it has understood nothing about the ocean itself. The first impression of a person is not false data but it is incomplete data, and conclusions drawn from it without further investigation will frequently be wrong in ways that matter. Take the second look.

What kind of proverb it is

Source Ming Dynasty 明·馮夢龍《醒世恆言》 (Xǐng Shì Héng Yán)

Sits beside

坐井觀天

zuò jǐng guān tiān

Have a limited view.

寸進尺退

cùn jìn chǐ tuì

Gain an inch and lose a foot.

早知今日，何必當初

zǎo zhī jīn rì hé bì dāng chū

Had I known how it would turn out, I would have acted differently.

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Frog, and Year of the Rat.

Questions

Is 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量 a real Chinese proverb?

Yes. 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量 (rén bù kě mào xiāng hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Ming Dynasty 明·馮夢龍《醒世恆言》 (Xǐng Shì Héng Yán). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.

How do you pronounce 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量?

In Mandarin it is rén bù kě mào xiāng hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量 aloud in Mandarin.