一瓶子不响,半瓶子晃荡

yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang

lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)

fig. empty vessels make the most noise

one

píng

variant of 瓶[ping2]

zi

noun suffix, as in 椅子[yi3 zi5] "chair"

no; not so

xiǎng

echo

,

bàn

half

píng

variant of 瓶[ping2]

zi

noun suffix, as in 椅子[yi3 zi5] "chair"

huàng

to sway

dang

to wash