华而不实 (huá ér bù shí) — flashy but insubstantial; superficially clever
Definition
Idiom criticizing things that look impressive on the surface but lack real substance — appearance over content. Often used to dismiss empty rhetoric or showy but impractical designs.
idiom
flashy but insubstantialsuperficially clever
Examples
- 华而不实，，。Tā de yǎn jiǎng huá ér bù shí, tīng qǐ lái hěn dòng tīng, dàn méi yǒu shén me shí jì nèi róng.His speech was flashy but insubstantial — it sounded nice but had no real content.
- 华而不实，。Zhè jiā gōng sī de chǎn pǐn shè jì huá ér bù shí, wài biǎo hǎo kàn dàn zhì liàng hěn chà.This company's product design is flashy but insubstantial — it looks good but the quality is poor.
- 华而不实。Bú yào bèi nà xiē huá ér bù shí de guǎng gào mí huò le.Don't be fooled by those flashy but insubstantial advertisements.
Appears in
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