瞎子摸象 xiā zi 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. unable to see the wood for the trees
  3. 3. 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

Characters

Character Meaning
瞎 xiā HSK 5
blind; foolishly; groundlessly
子 zi HSK 1
(noun suffix); son; child
摸 mō HSK 5
to touch; to feel with the hand; to stroke
象 xiàng HSK 4
elephant; appearance; shape