不識廬山真面目 bù shì lú shān zhēn miàn mù

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. not to know the true face of Lushan Mountain
  2. fig. can't see the forest for the trees

CHARACTERS

不 bù
HSK 1
no, not; un-; negative prefix
識 shì recognize, understand, know
廬 lú hut, cottage; name of a mountain
山 shān
HSK 3
mountain, hill, peak
真 zhēn
HSK 2
real, actual, true, genuine
面 miàn
HSK 1
face; surface; plane; side, dimension
目 mù
HSK 3
eye; look, see; division, topic