美中不足

měizhōngbùzú
idiom HSK 7 #33,625

Meanings

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

Examples

Zhè jiā cāntīng hěn hǎo, měizhōngbùzú de shì jiàgé yǒudiǎn guì.
This restaurant is great; the only downside is it's a bit expensive.
Lǚtú hěn kāixīn, měizhōngbùzú de shì tiānqì bù tài hǎo.
The trip was very enjoyable; the only imperfection was the weather wasn't great.

Tips

memory
= 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... (the only shortcoming is...). It introduces a mild criticism after praise.

Stroke Order

měi
zhōng