Chinese proverbs about character and personality

●人不可貌相,海水不可斗量

Rén bù kě mào xiàng, hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng [ren bu ke mao xiang, hai shui bu ke dou liang]

person not judge appearance mutual, sea water not judge bucket measure

A person cannot be judged by appearance just as the sea cannot be measured with a bucket

First appearances can be deceptive

Judging a book by its cover

众口难调

Zhòng kǒu nán tiáo [zhong kou nan tiao]

many mouth difficult mix

Difficult to make a meal to suit everyone

You can't please everyone all the time. Everyone has different tastes

One man's meat is another man's poison

● 听其言观其行

Tīng qí yán guān qí xíng [ting qi yan guan qi xing]

listen his speech observe his travel

Listen to what a person says and then watch what is done

Judge people by their actions, not by their words

Actions speak louder than words

● 人心不足蛇吞象

Rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng [ren xin bu zu she tun xiang]

person heart no attain snake swallow elephant

A person's greed is like a snake that seeks to swallow an elephant

Greed is insatiable

● 人不可貌相,海水不可斗量

Rén bù kě mào xiàng, hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng [ren bu ke mao xiang, hai shui bu ke dou liang]

person not judge appearance mutual, sea water not judge bucket measure

A person cannot be judged by appearance just as the sea cannot be measured with a bucket

First appearances can be deceptive

Judging a book by its cover

● 莫测高深

Mò cè gāo shēn [mo ce gao shen]

cannot measure high deep

Too high or deep to measure

Enigmatic, unfathomable. Too profound to be readily understood

Still waters run deep

● 近朱者赤,近墨者黑

Jìn zhū zhě chì, jìn mò zhě hēi [jin zhu zhe chi, jin mo zhe hei]

near vermilion that red, near ink that black

He who stays near vermilion is stained red; he who stays near ink is stained black

Taking on the color of the company kept. Adapting to surroundings

A person is known by the company he keeps

●好人好事

Haǒ rén haǒ shì [hao ren hao shi]

good person; good deeds

Good personality good deeds

Pleasant person; good actions

A good man is hard to find

●凡人不可貌相, 海水不可斗量

Fán rén bù kě mào xiàng, hǎi shuǐ bù kě dòu liàng [fan ren bu ke mao xiang, hai shui bu ke dou liang]

every person can not looks mutual, sea water can not argue capacity

Neither a person can be judged by his looks nor can the sea be fathomed

Judging by appearance is dangerous

Do not judge a book by its cover


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http://www.chinasage.info/proverbcharacter.htm