朽木 (xiǔ mù) — rotten wood (literal); hopeless case; a good-for-nothing (figurative)
Definition
A literal–figurative pair: 'rotten wood' used as a metaphor for a hopeless, useless person (朽木不可雕 — 'rotten wood cannot be carved'). Common in literary or critical contexts.
noun
rotten wood (literal)hopeless casea good-for-nothing (figurative)
Measure word · 块
Examples
- 朽木。Zhè kuài xiǔ mù yǐ jīng bù néng yòng le.This piece of rotten wood is no longer usable.
- ，朽木。Tā zuò shén me dōu bù xíng, zhēn shì xiǔ mù.He can't do anything right; he's really a hopeless case.
- 朽木，。Lǎo shī jué de zhè ge xué shēng shì xiǔ mù, hěn nán jiào.The teacher thinks this student is a good-for-nothing and hard to teach.
Appears in
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