食之無味，棄之可惜 shí zhī wú wèi ， qì zhī kě xī

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. to be hardly worth eating, but it would still be a pity to discard it (idiom)
  2. fig. some things have little to no value, yet one is still reluctant to part with them

CHARACTERS

食 shí
HSK 5
eat; meal; food; KangXi radical number 184
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
無 wú negative, no, not; lack, have no
味 wèi
HSK 4
taste, smell, odor; delicacy
棄 qì reject, abandon, discard
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
可 kě
HSK 2
may, can, -able; possibly
惜 xī
HSK 4
pity, regret, rue, begrudge