美中不足

měi zhōng bù zú

HSK level: HSK 7–9

Meaning

everything is fine except for one small defect (idiom); the fly in the ointment

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Characters

美měibeautiful, pretty; pleasing羊大中zhōngcentral; center, middle; amidst; to hit (target), to attain; China; Chinese口丨不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix一足zúfoot; to attain, to satisfy; enough口

Examples

那家馆子物美价廉，美中不足的是他们糟糕的位置。

Nà jiā guǎn zi wù měi jià lián, měi zhōng bù zú de shì tā men zāo gāo de wèi zhi.

That place's food is delicious and their prices are low. However, their location isn't good.