p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Discord

头重脚轻根底浅

頭重腳輕根底淺
tóuzhòngjiǎoqīnggēndǐqiǎn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 top-heavy, feet-light, shallow of root
  2. 2 (fig.) imposing on the surface but poorly grounded; style without substance
  3. 3 (lit.) head heavy, feet light, root-base shallow

Examples

有些人夸夸其谈，其实头重脚轻根底浅，经不起检验。
Yǒuxiē rén kuākuā qítán, qíshí tóuzhòng jiǎoqīng gēndǐ qiǎn, jīng bù qǐ jiǎnyàn.
Some people love to boast, but are in fact 'top-heavy and shallow of root' — they don't stand up to scrutiny.
不打好基础，什么项目都会头重脚轻根底浅。
Bù dǎ hǎo jīchǔ, shénme xiàngmù dōu huì tóuzhòng jiǎoqīng gēndǐ qiǎn.
Without laying proper foundations, any project ends up 'top-heavy, light-footed, and shallow at the root.'

Tips

history
From 毛泽东《改造我们的学习》(Mao Zedong, 'Reform Our Study,' 1941), quoting an old folk couplet about the 'subjective pedant': 墙上芦苇，头重脚轻根底浅；山间竹笋，嘴尖皮厚腹中空 (A reed on the wall — head heavy, feet light, shallow of root; a bamboo shoot in the hills — tip sharp, skin thick, hollow inside). Mao used it to attack formalist cadres who spouted theory without grasping Chinese reality. The couplet is attributed in folklore to Ming scholar 解缙 but became famous through Mao.
usage
Always the first half of the couplet, paired with 嘴尖皮厚腹中空. Modern usage targets: empty rhetoric, shallow expertise, wobbly business plans, rushed construction.

Stroke Order

头 tóu
重 zhòng
脚 jiǎo
轻 qīng
根 gēn
底 dǐ
浅 qiǎn