抛砖引玉 in English pao1 zhuan1 yin3 yu4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) throw out a brick and get jade thrown back (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to attract others' interest or suggestions by putting forward one's own modest ideas to get the ball rolling

Simplified Characters

抛 砖 引 玉

Traditional Characters

拋 磚 引 玉

Pinyin

pao1 zhuan1 yin3 yu4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

抛pao1to throw 砖zhuan1variant of 甎|砖[zhuan1] 引yin3to draw (e.g. a bow) 玉yu4jade