以貌取人

Pronunciation: yǐ mào qǔ rén Literal meaning: Judge people by appearance

Origin & Usage

Confucius, according to the Records of the Grand Historian, admitted two misjudgements. He had expected much of Zai Yu, who spoke well, and was disappointed; and he had thought little of Ziyu, whose appearance was against him, and who became a teacher with three hundred followers. Judging (取) people (人) by (以) appearance (貌), he concluded, was how he had lost Ziyu. The phrase carries that confession in it, which is why it lands harder than a general warning about superficiality: the person who got it wrong was Confucius.

Examples

English: "She was dismissed for her looks, showing how superficial judgments can be misleading."

Chinese: 他以貌取人，错过了很多优秀的人才。