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一馬勺壞一鍋

简一马勺坏一锅 · 繁一馬勺壞一鍋

Mandarin · pinyin yī mǎ sháo huài yī guō

one ladle (of sth bad) spoils the (whole) pot (idiom)
one bad apple spoils the barrel

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
馬: Look up this written character
勺: sháo · spoon, ladle; unit of volume
壞: Look up this written character
鍋: Look up this written character
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
坏: huài · rotten, spoilt, bad, broken down
锅: guō · cooking-pot, saucepan

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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1–3–2–4–1–1 · yi1 ma3 shao2 huai4 yi1 guo1

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