一 马 勺 坏 一 锅

yī mǎ sháo huài yī guōdictionary entry

one ladle (of sth bad) spoils the (whole) pot (idiom) / one bad apple spoils the barrel

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-9afda576253c67c9. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

一馬勺壞一鍋 一马勺坏一锅 [yi1 ma3 shao2 huai4 yi1 guo1] /one ladle (of sth bad) spoils the (whole) pot (idiom)/one bad apple spoils the barrel/

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.

Other forms in these source records: 一馬勺壞一鍋

一
yī
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
马
mǎ
horse / CL:匹[pǐ] / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess
Mǎ
surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Mǎ lái xī yà]
勺
sháo
spoon / ladle / CL:把[bǎ] / abbr. for 公勺[gōng sháo], centiliter (unit of volume)
坏
huài
bad / spoiled / broken / to break down / (suffix) to the utmost
一
yī
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
锅
guō
pot / pan / wok / cauldron / pot-shaped thing / CL:口[kǒu],隻|只[zhī]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.