DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
瞎子摸象
Mandarin · pinyin xiā zi mō xiàng
Meanings
- blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經 dà bān Niè pán jīng); fig. unable to see the big picture
- to mistake the part for the whole
- unable to see the wood for the trees
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Mandarin tones
1–5–1–4 · xia1 zi5 mo1 xiang4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
hat6 zi2 mo2 zoeng6
Cantonese word readings for 瞎子摸象. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
hat6 zi2 mo2 zoeng6
Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) synonym of 盲人摸象 (mángrénmōxiàng)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack