美中不足

měizhōng-bùzú
idiom HSK 7-9 #33,625

Meanings

  1. 1 a fly in the ointment
  2. 2 an otherwise perfect thing with one small defect

Examples

HSK 5
Zhèjiā cāntīng hěn hǎo, měizhōng-bùzú de shì jiàgé yǒudiǎn guì.
This restaurant is great; the only downside is it's a bit expensive.
HSK 7-9
Lǚtú hěn kāixīn, měizhōng-bùzú de shì tiānqì bùtàihǎo.
The trip was very enjoyable; the only imperfection was the weather wasn't great.

Tips

memory
美中 = in the beauty, 不足 = not enough/lacking. Even within something beautiful, there is one small shortcoming. Always used to acknowledge a minor flaw in something otherwise good.
grammar
Almost always used in the pattern 美中不足的是... (the only shortcoming is...). It introduces a mild criticism after praise.

Stroke Order

měi
zhōng