rotten cotton wadding; tattered padding
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
rotten cotton wadding; decayed padding
literaryMost commonly used in the classical idiom 金玉其外，败絮其中 (gold and jade on the outside, rotten cotton on the inside), describing something that appears beautiful or valuable externally but is actually worthless or chaotic within.
Jīn金
yù玉
qí其
wài外
，
bài败
xù絮
qí其
zhōng中
。
Gold and jade on the outside, but rotten cotton on the inside—beautiful on the surface but worthless within.
Zhè这
jiàn件
páo袍
zi子
wài外
biǎo表
guāng光
xiān鲜
，
lǐ里
miàn面
què却
shì是
bài败
xù絮
yī一
tuán团
。
This robe looks bright and beautiful on the outside, but inside it's just a ball of tattered padding.
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Nà那
xiē些
bài败
xù絮
bèi被
fēng风
chuī吹
de得
dào到
chù处
dōu都
shì是
。
That rotten cotton wadding was blown everywhere by the wind.