盲人摸象 in English mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4 Meaning

Meanings

  • blind people touch an elephant (idiomatic expression, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[da4 ban1 Nie4 pan2 jing1]); metaphorically unable to see the big picture
  • to mistake the part for the whole
  • unable to see the wood for the trees

Simplified Characters

盲 人 摸 象

Traditional Characters

盲 人 摸 象

Pinyin

mang2 ren2 mo1 xiang4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

盲mang2blind 人ren2man 摸mo1to feel with the hand 象xiang4elephant