瞎子摸象

Traditional form:

瞎子摸象

Pinyin (reading):

xiāzimōxiàng

Definitions:

• blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經／大般涅盘经 (dàbān Nièpánjīng)); fig. unable to see the big picture
• to mistake the part for the whole
• unable to see the wood for the trees

Characters:

• 瞎 - blind, reckless; rash
• 子 - son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing
• 摸 - to caress, to stroke, to gently touch
• 象 - elephant; ivory; figure, image

Traditional characters:

• 瞎 - blind, reckless; rash
• 子 - son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing
• 摸 - to caress, to stroke, to gently touch
• 象 - elephant; ivory; figure, image