一叶障目 in English yi1 ye4 zhang4 mu4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) eyes obscured by a single leaf (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically not seeing the wider picture
  • can't see the wood for the trees

Simplified Characters

一 叶 障 目

Traditional Characters

一 葉 障 目

Pinyin

yi1 ye4 zhang4 mu4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

一yi1one 叶ye4to be in harmony 障zhang4to block 目mu4eye