以貌取人 judge by appearances
Explanation
根据外貌来判断人的品质才能，多含贬义。
To judge a person's character or ability based on their appearance; often used with a negative connotation.
Origin Story
春秋时期，孔子的学生子羽相貌丑陋，孔子对他很冷淡，他只有离开孔子回去自修，后成为有名的学者。而学生宰予长得很好，但不学无术，不久就被齐王处死。孔子感慨地说："不能以貌取人，也不能凭人说话来衡量别人。"
During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius's student Ziyu was ugly, and Confucius was cold to him. He had to leave Confucius to study at home and later became a famous scholar. However, his student Zaiyu was handsome, but uneducated, and was executed by King Qi soon after. Confucius sighed and said, "One cannot judge people by their appearance, nor can one judge others by what they say."
Usage
作谓语、定语、宾语；用于人。
Used as predicate, attributive, and object; used for people.
Examples
-
不要以貌取人，要看他的能力。
buyaoyi mao quren,yaokan tade nengli.
Don't judge a person by their appearance, but by their ability.
-
他以貌取人，错失了良才。
ta yi mao quren,cuoshi le liangcai
He judged by appearance and missed a good talent.