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人不可貌相

rén bù kě mào xiàngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
you can't judge a person by appearance (idiom) / you can't judge a book by its cover / often in combination 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量[rén bù kě mào xiàng , hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng]
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-148a6483a706d0e7. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

人不可貌相 人不可貌相 [ren2 bu4 ke3 mao4 xiang4] /you can't judge a person by appearance (idiom)/you can't judge a book by its cover/often in combination 人不可貌相，海水不可斗量[ren2 bu4 ke3 mao4 xiang4 , hai3 shui3 bu4 ke3 dou3 liang2]/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 人
  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 可
    kě

    (prefix) can / may / able to / -able / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very / but / however

    kè

    used in 可汗[kè hán]

  • 貌
    mào

    (bound form) appearance / looks / outward form

  • 相
    xiāng

    each other / one another / mutually / fret on the neck of a pipa 琵琶[pí pa] (a fret on the soundboard is called a 品[pǐn])

    xiàng

    appearance / portrait / picture / government minister / (physics) phase / (literary) to appraise (esp. by scrutinizing physical features) / to read sb's fortune (by physiognomy, palmistry etc)

    Xiāng

    surname Xiang

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.