引玉之砖 yǐn yù zhī zhuān

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. a brick thrown to prompt others to produce a jade (idiom)
  2. fig. a modest suggestion intended to prompt others to come forward with better ideas

CHARACTERS

引 yǐn
HSK 4
to pull, draw out, attract; to stretch
玉 yù
HSK 5
jade, precious stone, gem
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
砖 zhuān
HSK 6
tile, brick