半瓶水响叮当

bàn píng shuǐ xiǎng dīng dāng

lit. if you tap a half-empty bottle it makes a sound (idiom)

fig. empty vessels make the most noise; one who has a little knowledge likes to show off, but one who is truly knowledgeable is modest

半

bàn

half

瓶

píng

variant of 瓶[ping2]

水

shuǐ

water

响

xiǎng

echo

叮

dīng

to sting or bite (of mosquito, bee etc)

当

dāng

to be