家丑不可外扬 in English jia1 chou3 bu4 ke3 wai4 yang2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) family shames must not be spread abroad (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically don't wash your dirty linen in public

Simplified Characters

家 丑 不 可 外 扬

Traditional Characters

家 醜 不 可 外 揚

Pinyin

jia1 chou3 bu4 ke3 wai4 yang2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

家jia1see 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] 丑chou3surname Chou 不bu4(negative prefix) 可ke3can 外wai4outside 扬yang2abbr. for 揚州|扬州[Yang2 zhou1]