瞎子摸象

xiā zi mō xiàng

Dictionary entry

blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[da4 ban1 Nie4 pan2 jing1]); fig. unable to see the big picture

What does 瞎子摸象 mean?

瞎子摸象 (xiā zi mō xiàng) has the following dictionary meaning.

1blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[da4 ban1 Nie4 pan2 jing1]); fig. unable to see the big picture

2to mistake the part for the whole

3unable to see the wood for the trees

Character breakdown

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瞎xiāblind · groundlessly 子zǐson · child 摸mōto feel with the hand · to touch 象xiàngelephant · CL:隻|只[zhi1]

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 瞎子摸象

瞎子摸象

xiā zi mō xiàng

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.