How do you pronounce 盲人摸象?

盲人摸象 is pronounced as "máng rén mō xiàng" in Mandarin Chinese.

盲人摸象

Q: What does 盲人摸象 mean?

盲人摸象 (máng rén mō xiàng) literally means "Blind person touches elephant" and metaphorically means "Mistaking partial knowledge for complete wisdom". It belongs to the Wisdom & Learning category of Chinese idioms.

Q: When is 盲人摸象 used?

盲人摸象 is used when Each department understood only their aspect of the problem, missing the complete picture.

盲人摸象 (máng rén mō xiàng) literally means “blind person touches elephant” and expresses “mistaking partial knowledge for complete wisdom”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving wisdom and learning.

Also searched as: mang ren mo xiang, mang ren mo xiang,盲人摸象 meaning, 盲人摸象 in english

Mistaking partial knowledge for complete wisdom

Pronunciation: máng rén mō xiàng Literal meaning: Blind person touches elephant

Origin & Usage

A king had blind (盲) men (人) brought to feel (摸) an elephant (象) and say what it was: the one who got the tusk said a radish, the ear a winnowing basket, the leg a pillar, the tail a rope — and none of them was inventing anything. The parable comes into Chinese with the Buddhist canon. Its sharpness is that each report is accurate, so the error is not in the touching but in taking a part for the whole, which makes it a description of specialists rather than of fools.

Examples

English: "Each department understood only their aspect of the problem, missing the complete picture"

Chinese: 每个部门只了解问题的一个方面，错过了完整的图景

Related Chinese Idioms

Similar idioms about wisdom & learning

盲人瞎马

máng rén xiā mǎ

Blundering on in extreme danger

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包罗万象

bāo luó wàn xiàng

All-inclusive

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顺藤摸瓜

shùn téng mō guā

Follow clues to solution

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纸上谈兵

zhǐ shàng tán bīng

All theory no practice

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囫囵吞枣

hú lún tūn zǎo

Accept without proper understanding

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隔靴搔痒

gé xuē sāo yǎng

Ineffective indirect solution

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刻舟求剑

kè zhōu qiú jiàn

Using outdated methods foolishly

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闭门造车

bì mén zào chē

Creating without practical feedback

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does 盲人摸象 mean in English?

盲人摸象 (máng rén mō xiàng) literally translates to “Blind person touches elephant” and is used to express “Mistaking partial knowledge for complete wisdom”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Wisdom & Learning category.