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Chinese/Dictionary entry

包子有肉不在褶上

bāo zi yǒu ròu bù zài zhě shàngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
a book is not judged by its cover (idiom)
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-31c901852c529f96. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

包子有肉不在褶上 包子有肉不在褶上 [bao1 zi5 you3 rou4 bu4 zai4 zhe3 shang4] /a book is not judged by its cover (idiom)/

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.

  • 包
    bāo

    to cover / to wrap / to hold / to include / to take charge of / to contract (to or for) / package / wrapper / container / bag / to hold or embrace / bundle / packet / CL:個|个[gè],隻|只[zhī]

    Bāo

    surname Bao

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary / subordinate / (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 有
    yǒu

    to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)

  • 肉
    ròu

    meat / flesh / pulp (of a fruit) / (coll.) (of a fruit) squashy / (of a person) flabby / irresolute / Kangxi radical 130

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 在
    zài

    to exist / to be alive / (of sb or sth) to be (located) at / (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)

  • 褶
    xí

    (arch.) court dress

    zhě

    pleat / crease / Taiwan pr. [zhé]

  • 上
    shǎng

    used in 上聲|上声[shǎng shēng]

    shàng

    (bound form) up / upper / above / previous / first (of multiple parts) / to climb / to get onto / to go up / to attend (class or university) / (directional complement) up / (noun suffix) on / above

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.