人不可貌相，海水不可斗量 in English ren2 bu4 ke3 mao4 xiang4 , hai3 shui3 bu4 ke3 dou3 liang2 Meaning

Meanings

• you can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot (idiomatic expression)

Pinyin

ren2 bu4 ke3 mao4 xiang4 , hai3 shui3 bu4 ke3 dou3 liang2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

人ren2man 不bu4(negative prefix) 可ke3can 貌mao4appearance 相xiang1surname Xiang ， 海hai3surname Hai 水shui3surname Shui 不bu4(negative prefix) 可ke3can 斗dou4abbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星[Bei3 dou3 xing1] 量liang4to measure