一顆老鼠屎壞了一鍋湯 yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng

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 soup (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
one; 1; single
measure word for small round things; a grain
old (of people)
mouse; rat
feces; stool; nasal mucus
bad; broken; to break down
(completed action marker)
one; 1; single
pot; pan; boiler
soup; hot or boiling water