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白璧微瑕

báibì-wēixiá
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 a slight flaw in something otherwise excellent
  2. 2 a minor blemish on white jade - a small imperfection in something near-perfect

Examples

这部电影几乎完美，结尾稍弱算是白璧微瑕。
Zhèbù diànyǐng jīhū wánměi, jiéwěi shāo ruò suànshì báibì-wēixiá.
The film is nearly perfect - the slightly weak ending is a minor blemish on otherwise white jade.
他的文章写得很好，几个错别字只是白璧微瑕。
Tā de wénzhāng xiě de hěn hǎo, jǐ ge cuòbiézì zhǐshì báibì-wēixiá.
His essay is well-written; a few typos are just a minor blemish.

Tips

history
From Xiao Tong's preface to Tao Yuanming's collected works (萧统《陶渊明集序》, 6th c.): 白璧微瑕，惟在《闲情》一赋 - 'a slight flaw on white jade, only in [his rhapsody] On Idle Feelings'. Xiao Tong was praising Tao Yuanming overall while gently faulting one piece. The phrase has carried that meaning - 'almost perfect, with one small flaw' - ever since.
usage
Use to soften criticism: you're explicitly framing the flaw as small relative to overall excellence. Not for serious flaws - that would be sarcastic. Compare 瑕不掩瑜 ('the flaw doesn't hide the jade's brilliance').

Stroke Order

白 bái
璧 bì
微 wēi
瑕 xiá