一粒老鼠屎，壞了一鍋粥

See also: 一粒老鼠屎，坏了一锅粥

Chinese

		one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	a grain; a granule	mouse excrement		bad; evil; rotten bad; evil; rotten; spoiled	to know; to understand; (modal particle intensifying preceding clause) to know; to understand; (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (completed action marker)	one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	pot; pan; boiler	congee; gruel; porridge
trad. (一粒老鼠屎，壞了一鍋粥)		一	粒	老鼠屎	，	壞	了	一	鍋	粥
simp. (一粒老鼠屎，坏了一锅粥)		一	粒	老鼠屎	，	坏	了	一	锅	粥
Literally: “One piece of mouse excrement spoiled one (whole) pot of rice congee.”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yī lì lǎoshǔshǐ, huài le yī guō zhōu

  (Zhuyin): ㄧ ㄌㄧˋ ㄌㄠˇ ㄕㄨˇ ㄕˇ, ㄏㄨㄞˋ ˙ㄌㄜ ㄧ ㄍㄨㄛ ㄓㄡ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jat¹ lap¹ lou⁵ syu² si², waai⁶ liu⁵ jat¹ wo¹ zuk¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: yī lì lǎoshǔshǐ, huài le yī guō zhōu [Phonetic: yílìláoshúshǐ,huàileyìguōzhōu]
    • Zhuyin: ㄧ ㄌㄧˋ ㄌㄠˇ ㄕㄨˇ ㄕˇ, ㄏㄨㄞˋ ˙ㄌㄜ ㄧ ㄍㄨㄛ ㄓㄡ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yi1 lih laoshuushyy, huay .lhe yi1 guo jou
    • IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵⁻³⁵ li⁵¹ lɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂʐ̩²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ xu̯aɪ̯⁵¹ lə¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ku̯ɔ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂoʊ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: jat¹ lap¹ lou⁵ syu² si², waai⁶ liu⁵ jat¹ wo¹ zuk¹
    • Yale: yāt lāp lóuh syú sí, waaih líuh yāt wō jūk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁷ lap⁷ lou⁵ sy² si², waai⁶ liu⁵ jat⁷ wo¹ dzuk⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: yed¹ leb¹ lou⁵ xu² xi², wai⁶ liu⁵ yed¹ wo¹ zug¹
    • IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚⁵ lɐp̚⁵ lou̯¹³ ɕyː³⁵ siː³⁵ wɑːi̯²² liːu̯¹³ jɐt̚⁵ wɔː⁵⁵ t͡sʊk̚⁵/

Proverb

一粒老鼠屎，壞了一鍋粥

1. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. / One ill weed mars a whole pot of porridge.

Synonyms

• 一顆老鼠屎，壞了一鍋粥／一颗老鼠屎，坏了一锅粥
• 一粒老鼠屎，壞了一鍋湯／一粒老鼠屎，坏了一锅汤
• 一顆老鼠屎，壞了一鍋湯／一颗老鼠屎，坏了一锅汤