盲人摸象 máng rén mō xiàng

to mistake the part for the whole

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to mistake the part for the whole
  2. 2. blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅盘经dà bān niè pán jīng); fig. unable to see the big picture
  3. 3. unable to see the wood for the trees

Characters

Character Meaning
盲 máng HSK 6
blind
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
摸 mō HSK 5
to touch; to feel with the hand; to stroke
象 xiàng HSK 4
elephant; appearance; shape