朽木不可雕

xiǔ mù bù kě diāo

Dictionary entry

lit. rotten wood cannot be carved (idiom)

What does 朽木不可雕 mean?

朽木不可雕 (xiǔ mù bù kě diāo) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. rotten wood cannot be carved (idiom)

2fig. you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

Character breakdown

Open each character to see its own meanings and vocabulary links.

朽xiǔrotten 木Mùsurname Mu 不bùno; not so · (bound form) not; un-可kě(prefix) can; may; able to; -able · to approve; to permit 雕diāovariant of 雕[diao1], to engrave

Reviewed examples

No reviewed example dialogues yet. This page only shows verified dictionary data until a context lesson is published.

How to pronounce 朽木不可雕

朽木不可雕

xiǔ mù bù kě diāo

Tap to hear Mandarin.

Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.