一知半解 yī zhī bàn jiě Superficial understanding

Explanation

指对事物了解不全面，理解得不透彻。比喻对事物的认识肤浅，不深入。

Means understanding something incompletely or superficially. It is used to describe a superficial understanding of something, lacking in depth.

Origin Story

古代，有一个名叫张三的书生，他自诩博学多才，却只是对一些表面知识略知一二，对于深奥的学问却是一知半解。一天，他在街上遇见一位老先生，老先生见他气宇轩昂，便问道：“小伙子，你对什么学问比较精通？”张三自信地回答道：“我对儒家经典很熟悉，对诗词歌赋也很了解。”老先生听后，淡淡一笑，说道：“那你可知道‘仁义礼智信’的含义吗？”张三沉思片刻，支支吾吾地说：“好像知道一点，但也不太清楚。”老先生摇摇头，说道：“一知半解是学不到真知的，只有深入学习，才能真正理解其中的奥妙。”张三听了，羞愧不已，从此更加努力地学习，不再满足于一知半解。

gǔ dài, yǒu yī gè míng jiào zhāng sān de shū shēng, tā zì xǔ bó xué duō cái, què zhǐ shì duì yī xiē biǎo miàn zhī shì lüè zhī yī èr, duì yú shēn ào de xué wèn què shì yī zhī bàn jiě. yī tiān, tā zài jiē shàng yù jiàn yī wèi lǎo xiān shēng, lǎo xiān shēng jiàn tā qì yǔ xuān áng, biàn wèn dào: “xiǎo huǒ zi, nǐ duì shén me xué wèn bǐ jiào jīng tōng?” zhāng sān zì xìn de huí dá dào: “wǒ duì rú jiā jīng diǎn hěn shú xī, duì shī cí gē fù yě hěn liǎo jiě.” lǎo xiān shēng tīng hòu, dàn dàn yī xiào, shuō dào: “nà nǐ kě zhī dào ‘rén yì lǐ zhì xìn’ de hái yì ma?” zhāng sān chén sī piàn kè, zhī zhī wú wú de shuō: “hǎo xiàng zhī dào yī diǎn, dàn yě bù tài qīng chǔ.” lǎo xiān shēng yáo yáo tóu, shuō dào: “yī zhī bàn jiě shì xué bù dào zhēn zhī de, zhǐ yǒu shēn rù xué xí, cái néng zhēn zhèng liǎo jiě qí zhōng de áo miào.” zhāng sān tīng le, xiū kuì bù yǐ, cóng cǐ gèng jiā nǔ lì de xué xí, bù zài mǎn zuó yú yī zhī bàn jiě.

In ancient times, there was a scholar named Zhang San who boasted of his wide knowledge, but he only had a superficial understanding of some surface knowledge, while he was ignorant of profound knowledge. One day, he met an old gentleman on the street. The old gentleman saw that he had an impressive appearance, and asked,

Usage

形容对事物了解不全面、理解得不透彻。

xíng róng duì shì wù liǎo jiě bù quán miàn, liǎo jiě de bù tòu chè.

To describe an incomplete or superficial understanding of something.

Examples

• 他的历史知识只是一知半解，很多细节都搞不清楚。

  tā de lì shǐ zhī shì zhǐ shì yī zhī bàn jiě, hěn duō xì jié dōu gǎo bù qīng chǔ.

  His knowledge of history is only superficial, he doesn't know many details.

• 对于这个问题，我们不要一知半解，要认真学习，弄懂其中的原理。

  duì yú zhè ge wèn tí, wǒ men bù yào yī zhī bàn jiě, yào rèn zhēn xué xí, nòng dǒng qí zhōng de yuán lí.

  We should not be superficial about this issue, but study it carefully and understand the principles behind it.

• 这个项目需要深入研究，不能一知半解地就开始实施。

  zhè ge xiàng mù xū yào shēn rù yán jiū, bù néng yī zhī bàn jiě de jiù kāi shǐ shī shí.

  This project requires in-depth research, we can't just start implementing it without a thorough understanding.

Related Idioms

• 一孔之见

• 浮光掠影

Opposite Idioms

• 博古通今

• 精通