things considered worthless but useful; humble yet useful things
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
things considered lowly or worthless but actually useful; humble yet useful items
literaryLiterally refers to cow urine (or plantain herb) and puffball fungus, both used in traditional Chinese medicine. Used to describe objects, materials, or even people whose value is overlooked due to their humble appearance or status.
Zhè这
xiē些
jiù旧
líng零
jiàn件
kàn看
sì似
wú无
yòng用
，
shí实
zé则
niú牛
sōu溲
mǎ马
bó勃
，
guān关
jiàn键
shí时
néng能
pài派
shang上
dà大
yòng用
chǎng场
。
These old parts seem useless, but they are humble yet useful things that can be of great help at critical moments.
Gōng公
sī司
lǐ里
měi每
gè个
yuán员
gōng工
dōu都
shì是
rén人
cái才
，
nǎ哪
pà怕
shì是
zuò做
jī基
chǔ础
gōng工
zuò作
de的
，
yě也
kān堪
chēng称
niú牛
sōu溲
mǎ马
bó勃
，
bù不
kě可
huò或
quē缺
。
Every employee in the company is talented; even those doing basic work can be considered humble yet indispensable resources.
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Gǔ古
rén人
yún云
，
niú牛
sōu溲
mǎ马
bó勃
，
bài败
gǔ鼓
zhī之
pí皮
，
jù俱
shōu收
bìng并
xù蓄
，
dài待
yòng用
wú无
yí遗
。
As the ancients said, humble things like cow urine, puffballs, and old drum skins should all be collected and stored, as nothing useful should be wasted.