目无全牛
目无全牛 (mù wú quán niú) literally means “eyes see no whole ox” and expresses “achieve instinctive mastery”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving success and perseverance.
Also searched as: mu wu quan niu, mu wu quan niu,目无全牛 meaning, 目无全牛 in english
Achieve instinctive mastery
Pronunciation: mù wú quán niú Literal meaning: Eyes see no whole ox
Origin & Usage
After three years of practice, Cook Ding in the Zhuangzi no longer saw the whole (全) ox (牛): his eyes (目) stopped registering the animal as a single object and took in the joints and cavities instead, so that the knife went through gaps rather than through tissue. 无 is that absence of the whole. The phrase names a particular stage of expertise rather than expertise in general — the point at which the surface of a thing stops being what you perceive — and it fits engineers, editors and diagnosticians who look and see structure first.
Examples
English: "After decades of practice, the chef could create masterpieces without recipes"
Chinese: 经过几十年的练习，这位厨师可以不用食谱创作出杰作
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about success & perseverance
庖丁解牛
páo dīng jiě niú
Effortless skill through perfect practice
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汗牛充栋
hàn niú chōng dòng
So many books they cannot be housed
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九牛一毛
jiǔ niú yī máo
A drop in the bucket; negligible amount
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目不转睛
mù bù zhuǎn jīng
Focus intently
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一叶障目
yī yè zhàng mù
Miss big picture
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目不暇给
mù bù xiá jǐ
Too much to take in
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刮目相看
guā mù xiāng kàn
Reassess someone who has improved
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鱼目混珠
yú mù hùn zhū
Passing fakes as genuine
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 目无全牛 mean in English?
目无全牛 (mù wú quán niú) literally translates to “Eyes see no whole ox” and is used to express “Achieve instinctive mastery”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Success & Perseverance category.
When is 目无全牛 used?
Situation: After decades of practice, the chef could create masterpieces without recipes
What is the pinyin for 目无全牛?
The pinyin pronunciation for 目无全牛 is “mù wú quán niú”.
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