走馬觀花

简 走马观花 · 繁 走馬觀花
Mandarin · pinyin zǒu mǎ guān huā

Meanings

  1. lit. flower viewing from horseback (idiom); a fleeting glance in passing
  2. fig. superficial understanding from cursory observation
  3. to make a quick judgment based on inadequate information
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Characters in this entry

走
zǒu · walk, go on foot; run; leave; Kangxi radical 156
馬
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觀
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花
huā · flower; blossoms
马
mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
观
guān · see, observe, view; appearance
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–1–1 · zou3 ma3 guan1 hua1

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zau2 maa5 gun1 faa1

Cantonese word readings for 走馬觀花. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

zau2 maa5 gun1 faa1

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

  1. (figurative) to make a hurried and cursory observation; to gain only a superficial understanding of something

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

走馬觀花 · zou3 ma3 guan1 hua1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 104,491
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record走馬觀花 走马观花 [zou3 ma3 guan1 hua1] /lit. flower viewing from horseback (idiom); a fleeting glance in passing/fig. superficial understanding from cursory observation/to make a quick judgment based on inadequate information/