叩けば埃が出る（たたけばほこりがでる）

Japanese vocabulary

Meaning: scratch the surface and you will find dirt; look close enough and you will find the flaws; hit something and dust comes out

See it used in real works

• Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
• Hear “叩けば埃が出る” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)