一粒老鼠屎壞了一鍋粥 yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu

fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
  2. 2. lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
one; 1; single
grain; granule
old (of people)
mouse; rat
feces; stool; nasal mucus
bad; broken; to break down
(completed action marker)
one; 1; single
pot; pan; boiler
congee; porridge; gruel