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虛有其表

简虚有其表 · 繁虛有其表

Mandarin · pinyin xū yǒu qí biǎo

looks impressive but is worthless (idiom)
not as good as it looks
a reputation with no substance

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Characters in this entry

虛: Look up this written character
有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
其: qí · his, her, its, their; that
表: biǎo · show, express, manifest, display
虚: xū · false

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

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Mandarin tones

1–3–2–3 · xu1 you3 qi2 biao3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

虛有其表 · find source passages ↗ · 虚有其表 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

heoi1 jau5 kei4 biu2

Cantonese word readings for 虛有其表. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to look impressive but lack real worth

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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