走马观花

Pronunciation: zǒu mǎ guān huā Literal meaning: View flowers from galloping horse

Origin & Usage

This descends from Meng Jiao's poem on passing the imperial examination: 春风得意马蹄疾，一日看尽长安花 — with the spring wind at his back and the hooves quick, he sees all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day. The original is pure elation. The later idiom keeps the horse (走马) and the flowers (观花) but reverses the judgement, so that seeing everything quickly now means seeing nothing properly. It is also written 走马看花, with no difference in sense. It names the hurried look that takes in everything and registers none of it.

Examples

English: "The three-day tour only allowed for a superficial impression of the ancient city"

Chinese: 为期三天的旅游只能对这座古城有一个肤浅的印象