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眼高手低

Mandarin · pinyin yǎn gāo shǒu dī

to have high standards but little ability
to be fastidious but incompetent (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

眼: yǎn · eye; eyelet, hole, opening
高: gāo · high, tall; lofty, elevated; Kangxi radical 189
手: shǒu · hand
低: dī · low; to lower, hang, bend, bow

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

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Mandarin tones

3–1–3–1 · yan3 gao1 shou3 di1

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngaan5 gou1 sau2 dai1

Cantonese word readings for 眼高手低. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to have grandiose aims but puny abilities; to be fastidious but incompetent

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

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