《买椟（dú）还珠》成语英译与典故

三十八、买椟（dú）还珠

古时候楚国有个卖珠的人，

珍珠都装在匣里卖。

匣子做得极漂亮，

里头的宝珠更喜人。

有一次他到郑国去卖珠，

有一个客人实在蠢，

见匣子漂亮就只买匣，

把宝珠还给了卖珠人。

这成语常用来比喻目光短浅，

取舍不当最愚蠢。

Buying the Casket and Giving Back the Pearls

In ancient times in the State of Chu，there was a man who sold pearls.And the pearls were packed and sold in caskets.The caskets were glittering and beau⁃tiful，and the pearls inside were even more so.

Once he went to the State of Zheng to sell the pearls，and came over a very foolish buyer，who found the casket beautiful.So he bought the casket and gave back the pearls.

This idiom means someone is short⁃sighted and tends to make a wrong choice.