其貌不扬

其貌不揚
qímào-bùyáng
idiom #64,345

Meanings

  1. 1 unimpressive in appearance
  2. 2 plain-looking; nothing special to look at

Examples

Tā suī qímàobùyáng, dàn cáihuá chūzhòng.
He may be plain-looking, but his talent is outstanding.
Zhèjiā diàn qímàobùyáng, cài què fēicháng hàochī.
This restaurant looks nothing special, but the food is excellent.

Tips

history
Rooted in 《左传·二十八》, where a father, warned that his son was plain-faced and unlikely to impress, said "if you had not spoken, I would nearly have lost my son." Pei Du later used of himself in self-deprecation.
usage
Classic setup for a "but" clause — 其貌不扬…… ("plain-looking, yet..."). Almost always a lead-in to hidden merit.

Stroke Order

mào
yáng