春秋的时候，有一个卖珠宝的商人。
他用很贵的材料，做成很多漂亮的小盒子，使盒子有香味，然后把珠宝放在盒子里面。
有一次他去卖珠宝。
有一个人，看见珠宝盒子特别漂亮，问了多少钱以后，就买了一个。
这个人打开盒子，把里面的珠宝拿出来，还给珠宝商人，带走了盒子。
现在人们说“买椟还珠”，意思是有的人只觉得外表重要而不看内容，不要重要的东西而选择不重要的东西，这不聪明。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
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| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 春秋 | Chūn qiū | Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) / Spring and Autumn Annals, chronicle of Lu State (722-481 BC) |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 时候 | shí hou | time / length of time / moment / period |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 卖 | mài | to sell |
| 珠宝 | zhū bǎo | pearls / jewels / precious stones |
| 商人 | shāng rén | merchant / businessman |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ / (coverb) with; using |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 贵 | guì | expensive |
| 材料 | cái liào | (raw) material / (fig.) person who has the potential to do the job |
| 做成 | zuò chéng | to make into; to turn into; to complete/make (something) successfully |
| 很多 | hěn duō | many; a lot of |
| 漂亮 | piào liang | pretty; beautiful |
| 小 | xiǎo | small / tiny / few |
| 盒子 | hé zi | box; case / hezi – a savory turnover-like pie in northern Chinese and Mongolian cuisines |
| 使 | shǐ | to make / to cause / to enable |
| 香味 | xiāng wèi | fragrance / bouquet / sweet smell |
| 然后 | rán hòu | then; after that; afterwards |
| 把 | bǎ | (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}) |
| 放 | fàng | to put / to place |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 里面 | lǐ miàn | inside / interior |
| 次 | cì | classifier for enumerated events: time |
| 去 | qù | to go, to go to |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 看见 | kàn jiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 特别 | tè bié | very; especially; particularly / in particular |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 多少 | duō shao | how much?; how many? / what number? |
| 钱 | qián | coin / money / unit of weight, one tenth of a tael |
| 以后 | yǐ hòu | after / later / afterwards / following / later on / in the future |
| 就 | jiù | in that case; then |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy / to purchase |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 打开 | dǎ kāi | to open / to show (a ticket) |
| 拿出来 | ná chū lái | to take out; to bring out; to produce |
| 还 | huán | to pay back / to return |
| 给 | gěi | to / for / for the benefit of / to do sth (for sb) |
| 带走 | dài zǒu | to carry; to take away |
| 现在 | xiàn zài | now; at present; currently |
| 人们 | rén men | people |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 买椟还珠 | mǎi dú huán zhū | to buy a wooden box and return the pearls inside / to show poor judgment (idiom) |
| 意思 | yì si | idea / opinion / meaning |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only) |
| 有的 | yǒu de | (there are) some (who are...) / some (exist) |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; merely; just |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ... |
| 外表 | wài biǎo | outside / outward appearance |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 而 | ér | but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates contrast) |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 看 | kàn | to see; to look at / to read / to watch / to visit; to call on / to consider; to regard as / to look after / to treat (a patient or illness) / to depend on / to feel (that) / (after a verb) to give it a try / to watch out for |
| 内容 | nèi róng | content; substance; details |
| 要 | yào | to want; to need; to ask for |
| 东西 | dōng xi | thing / stuff / person |
| 选择 | xuǎn zé | to select; to pick |
| 聪明 | cōng míng | intelligent; clever; bright / acute (of sight and hearing) |