瞎子摸象
xiā zi mō xiàng
Pinyin

Definition

瞎子摸象
 - 
xiā zi mō xiàng
  1. blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[dà bān Niè pán jīng]); fig. unable to see the big picture
  2. to mistake the part for the whole
  3. unable to see the wood for the trees

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

ér zi
  1. 1 son
yìn xiàng
  1. 1 impression
nu:3 zǐ
  1. 1 woman
  2. 2 female
qī zǐ
  1. 1 wife and children
  1. 1 son
  2. 2 child
  3. 3 seed
  4. 4 egg
  5. 5 small thing
  6. 6 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.-1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the Rat
  7. 7 Viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi]
  8. 8 ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north)
hái zi
  1. 1 child
duì xiàng
  1. 1 target
  2. 2 object
  3. 3 partner
  4. 4 boyfriend
  5. 5 girlfriend
  6. 6 CL:個|个[gè]
xíng xiàng
  1. 1 image
  2. 2 form
  3. 3 figure
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
  5. 5 visualization
  6. 6 vivid
xiǎng xiàng
  1. 1 to imagine
  2. 2 to fancy
  3. 3 CL:個|个[gè]
fáng zi
  1. 1 house
  2. 2 building (single- or two-story)
  3. 3 apartment
  4. 4 room
  5. 5 CL:棟|栋[dòng],幢[zhuàng],座[zuò],套[tào],間|间[jiān]
  1. 1 to feel with the hand
  2. 2 to touch
  3. 3 to stroke
  4. 4 to grope
  5. 5 to steal
  6. 6 to abstract
rì zi
  1. 1 day
  2. 2 a (calendar) date
  3. 3 days of one's life
yàng zi
  1. 1 appearance
  2. 2 manner
  3. 3 pattern
  4. 4 model
qì xiàng
  1. 1 meteorological feature
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
  3. 3 meteorology
  4. 4 atmosphere
  5. 5 ambience
  6. 6 scene
Shī zǐ
  1. 1 Leo (star sign)
  2. 2 Shihtzu township in Pingtung County 屏東縣|屏东县[Píng dōng Xiàn], Taiwan
Shī zi zuò
  1. 1 Leo (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
wáng zǐ
  1. 1 prince
  2. 2 son of a king
nán zǐ
  1. 1 a man
  2. 2 a male
Lǎo zǐ
  1. 1 Laozi or Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism
  2. 2 the sacred book of Daoism, 道德經|道德经 by Laozi
dù zi
  1. 1 belly
  2. 2 abdomen
  3. 3 stomach
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]

Idioms (20)

一瓶子不响,半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
丈二和尚,摸不着头脑
zhàng èr hé shang , mō bu zháo tóu nǎo
  1. 1 lit. like a three-meter high monk, you can't rub his head (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. at a total loss
不入虎穴,焉得虎子
bù rù hǔ xué , yān dé hǔ zǐ
  1. 1 How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair? (idiom); Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
不见兔子不撒鹰
bù jiàn tù zi bù sā yīng
  1. 1 you don't release the hawk until you've seen the hare (idiom)
  2. 2 one doesn't act without some incentive
乱臣贼子
luàn chén zéi zǐ
  1. 1 rebels and traitors (idiom)
  2. 2 general term for scoundrel
人心不足蛇吞象
rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng
  1. 1 a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant (idiom)
仁人君子
rén rén jūn zǐ
  1. 1 people of good will (idiom); charitable person
以子之矛,攻子之盾
yǐ zǐ zhī máo , gōng zǐ zhī dùn
  1. 1 lit. use sb's spear to attack his shield (idiom, derived from Han Feizi 韓非子|韩非子); turning a weapon against its owner
  2. 2 fig. to attack an opponent using his own devices
  3. 3 hoist with his own petard
以小人之心,度君子之腹
yǐ xiǎo rén zhī xīn , duó jūn zǐ zhī fù
  1. 1 to gauge the heart of a gentleman with one's own mean measure (idiom)
佳人才子
jiā rén cái zǐ
  1. 1 beautiful lady, gifted scholar (idiom)
  2. 2 pair of ideal lovers
偷鸡摸狗
tōu jī mō gǒu
  1. 1 to imitate the dog and steal chicken (idiom)
  2. 2 to pilfer
  3. 3 to dally with women
  4. 4 to have affairs
兔子不吃窝边草
tù zi bù chī wō biān cǎo
  1. 1 A rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow (idiom); One shouldn't do anything to harm one's neighbors.
刀子嘴,豆腐心
dāo zi zuǐ , dòu fu xīn
  1. 1 to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart (idiom)
包子有肉不在褶上
bāo zi yǒu ròu bù zài zhě shàng
  1. 1 a book is not judged by its cover (idiom)
又想当婊子又想立牌坊
yòu xiǎng dāng biǎo zi yòu xiǎng lì pái fāng
  1. 1 lit. to lead the life of a whore but still want a monument put up to one's chastity (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have bad intentions but still want a good reputation
  3. 3 to want to have one's cake and eat it too
吃熊心豹子胆
chī xióng xīn bào zi dǎn
  1. 1 to eat bear heart and leopard gall (idiom)
  2. 2 to pluck up some courage
合眼摸象
hé yǎn mō xiàng
  1. 1 to touch an elephant with closed eyes (idiom); to proceed blindly
君子之交
jūn zǐ zhī jiāo
  1. 1 friendship between gentlemen, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ])
君子之交淡如水
jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ
  1. 1 a gentleman's friendship, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ])
君子报仇,十年不晚
jūn zi bào chóu , shí nián bù wǎn
  1. 1 lit. for a nobleman to take revenge, ten years is not too long (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. revenge is a dish best served cold

Sample Sentences