一叶障目 yī yè zhàng mù A leaf obscures the eye

Explanation

比喻因局部或片面的现象而看不到事物的全貌。

The idiom means that one can't see the whole picture because of partial or one-sided phenomena.

Origin Story

从前，有个书生，他很爱读书，也很喜欢钻研学问，但他平时不爱出门，只喜欢把自己关在家里，整天捧着书本，就像一个井底之蛙，只看到井口那么大的天空。有一天，他从书上读到“蝉翳叶”的故事，就是说蝉用树叶来遮挡自己的眼睛，这样就不会被鸟类捕食。书生对这个故事深信不疑，于是就跑到树林里，把所有树叶都摘下来，想试一试是不是真的可以遮住蝉的眼睛，免受鸟类捕食。他把摘下的树叶拿到家里，对着妻子说道：“你看看，我现在用这些树叶遮住眼睛，你看得到我吗？”妻子摇摇头，说：“看不见。”书生高兴地说：“哈哈，果然可以，蝉用树叶遮挡眼睛，鸟类就看不见它了！”书生以为自己终于找到了蝉隐蔽的秘密，于是就拿着这些树叶，兴冲冲地跑到街上，准备用这些树叶遮挡自己的眼睛去偷东西，结果被巡逻的官兵当场抓获。官兵问他：“你为什么拿着树叶遮挡眼睛？你要干什么？”书生狡辩道：“我这是‘一叶障目’，你们看不见我。”官兵听了，哈哈大笑，说：“你这分明是自欺欺人，你以为用一片树叶就可以遮挡住所有人的眼睛吗？你太天真了！”

cóng qián, yǒu gè shū shēng, tā hěn ài dú shū, yě hěn xǐ huan zuān yán xué wèn, dàn tā píng shí bù ài chū mén, zhǐ xǐ huan bǎ zì jǐ guān zài jiā lí, zhěng tiān pěng zhe shū běn, jiù xiàng yī gè jǐng dǐ zhī wā, zhǐ kàn dào jǐng kǒu nà me dà de tiān kōng. yǒu yī tiān, tā cóng shū shàng dú dào “chán yì yè” de gù shì, jiù shì shuō chán yòng shù yè lái zhē dǎng zì jǐ de yǎn jīng, zhè yàng jiù bù huì bèi niǎo lèi bǔ shí. shū shēng duì zhè gè gù shì shēn xìn bù yí, yú shì jiù pǎo dào shù lín lí, bǎ suǒ yǒu shù yè dōu zhāi xià lái, xiǎng shì yī shì shì bú shì zhēn de kě yǐ zhē zhù chán de yǎn jīng, miǎn shòu niǎo lèi bǔ shí. tā bǎ zhāi xià de shù yè ná dào jiā lí, duì zhe qī zi shuō dào: “nǐ kàn kàn, wǒ xiàn zài yòng zhè xiē shù yè zhē zhù yǎn jīng, nǐ kàn de dào wǒ ma?” qī zi yáo yáo tóu, shuō: “kàn bú jiàn.” shū shēng gāo xìng de shuō: “hā ha, guǒ rán kě yǐ, chán yòng shù yè zhē dǎng yǎn jīng, niǎo lèi jiù kàn bú jiàn tā le!” shū shēng yǐ wéi zì jǐ zhōng yú zhǎo dào le chán yǐn bì de mì mì, yú shì jiù ná zhe zhè xiē shù yè, xīng xīng chōng chōng de pǎo dào jiē shàng, zhǔn bèi yòng zhè xiē shù yè zhē dǎng zì jǐ de yǎn jīng qù tōu dōng xi, jié guǒ bèi xún lú de guān bīng dāng chǎng zhuā huò. guān bīng wèn tā: “nǐ wèi shén me ná zhe shù yè zhē dǎng yǎn jīng? nǐ yào gàn shén me?” shū shēng jiǎo biàn dào: “wǒ zhè shì ‘yī yè zhàng mù’, nǐ men kàn bú jiàn wǒ.” guān bīng tīng le, hā ha dà xiào, shuō: “nǐ zhè fēn míng shì zì qī qī rén, nǐ yǐ wéi yòng yī piàn shù yè jiù kě yǐ zhē dǎng zhù suǒ yǒu rén de yǎn jīng ma? nǐ tài tiān zhēn le!”

Once upon a time, there was a scholar who loved to read and study. However, he rarely went out and preferred to stay at home, reading books all day long, just like a frog at the bottom of a well, seeing only the sky above the well's edge. One day, he read the story of the

Usage

比喻目光短浅，看不到事物发展的全貌。

bǐ yù mù guāng duǎn qiǎn, kàn bú dào shì wù fā zhǎn de quán mào.

The idiom is used to describe a narrow-minded view, where one cannot see the whole picture of things.

Examples

• 一叶障目，不见泰山，要学会全面看问题。

  yī yè zhàng mù, bú jiàn tài shān, yào xué huì quán miàn kàn wèn tí.

  A leaf obscures the eye, one cannot see Mount Tai. Learn to look at the problem comprehensively.

• 不要一叶障目，就忽视了全局。

  bù yào yī yè zhàng mù, jiù hū shì le quán jú.

  Don't let a leaf obscure your vision and ignore the bigger picture.

Related Idioms

• 坐井观天

• 鼠目寸光

Opposite Idioms

• 见微知著

• 洞察秋毫