DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

只見樹木，不見森林

简只见树木，不见森林 · 繁只見樹木，不見森林

Mandarin · pinyin zhǐ jiàn shù mù , bù jiàn sēn lín

can't see the wood for the trees

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

只: zhǐ · only, just, simply
見: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive; Kangxi radical 147
樹: shù · tree; plant; set up, establish
木: mù · tree; wood, lumber; wooden
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
森: sēn · forest; luxuriant vegetation
林: lín · forest, grove; surname
见: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive
树: shù · tree; plant; set up, establish

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Connected dictionary

9character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

只見樹木，不見森林 · find source passages ↗ · 只见树木，不见森林 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗