pōu
cáng
zhū

idiom
literary

Meaning of 剖腹藏珠

剖腹藏珠 means to cut open one's belly to hide a pearl; to harm oneself for the sake of material things; to put the trivial above the important. Pronounced pōu fù cáng zhū.

  • to cut open one's belly to hide a pearl; to harm oneself for the sake of material things; to put the trivial above the important

Definitions & Examples

Wèi
le
zhè
diǎn
xiǎo
ér
sǔn
shāng
shēn
 
jiǎn
zhí
shì
pōu
cáng
zhū
 

Harming your health for such small profits is simply cutting open your belly to hide a pearl.

pīn
mìng
jiā
bān
zhuàn
qián
 
zuì
hòu
lèi
kuǎ
le
shēn
 
zhēn
shì
pōu
cáng
zhū
 
cháng
shī
 

He worked overtime desperately to earn money and finally ruined his health—truly cutting open his belly to hide a pearl, the loss outweighing the gain.

xiē
tān
guān
wèi
le
qián
cái
shǒu
duàn
 
zuì
zhōng
shēn
xiàn
líng
 
wèi
shì
pōu
cáng
zhū
 

Those corrupt officials stopped at nothing for money and finally ended up in prison—truly cutting open their bellies to hide pearls.