一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡 in English yi1 ping2 zi5 bu4 xiang3 , ban4 ping2 zi5 huang4 dang5 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically empty vessels make the most noise

Simplified Characters

一 瓶 子 不 响 ， 半 瓶 子 晃 荡

Traditional Characters

一 瓶 子 不 響 ， 半 瓶 子 晃 蕩

Pinyin

yi1 ping2 zi5 bu4 xiang3 , ban4 ping2 zi5 huang4 dang5

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

一yi1one 瓶ping2bottle 子zi5son 不bu4(negative prefix) 响xiang3echo ， 半ban4half 瓶ping2bottle 子zi5son 晃huang3variant of 晃[huang3] 荡dang4variant of 蕩|荡[dang4]