华而不实

華而不實
huáérbùshí
idiom #17,124

Meanings

  1. 1 flashy but without substance; showy but impractical
  2. 2 (literally) flower but no fruit

Characters

Literally 'flowery but not fruitful' — looks good but lacks real content.

Examples

Zhè piān wénzhāng xiě de huáérbùshí, méi shénme gānhuò.
This article is all style and no substance — there's nothing solid in it.
Tā de fāng'àn tīng qǐlái hěn hǎo, dàn shíjì shàng huáérbùshí.
His plan sounds great, but in reality it's all flash and no substance.

Tips

history
From《》(Zuǒzhuàn): originally referred to the flower of a plant, to its fruit. A plant that flowers but bears no fruit — beautiful outside, empty inside.

Stroke Order

huá
ér
shí