不得要领 miss the point
Explanation
这个成语指没有抓住要点或关键。
This idiom means not grasping the key points or essentials.
Origin Story
汉武帝时期，张骞奉命出使西域，寻找强敌匈奴的弱点，为日后反击做准备。他历尽艰辛，到达了大宛国，但由于语言不通，文化差异巨大，加之大宛国并不愿与汉朝结盟，张骞未能获得任何关于匈奴的情报，最终只能空手而归。张骞的这次出使，虽然没有达到预期的目的，却为后世留下了“不得要领”的成语故事，用来比喻做事没有抓住要点，没有达到预期的效果。张骞的故事也告诉我们，在与不同文化背景的人交流时，需要克服语言和文化障碍，才能更好地完成任务。
During the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian was sent by Emperor Wu to the Western Regions to find the weaknesses of the powerful Xiongnu Empire and prepare for a counterattack. After many hardships, he arrived at Dayuan, but due to language barriers, huge cultural differences, and Dayuan's unwillingness to form an alliance with Han, Zhang Qian could not get any information about the Xiongnu and returned empty-handed. Though Zhang Qian's mission did not achieve its purpose, it left the idiom "bù dé yào lǐng", which describes failing to grasp the essentials and not achieving the desired results. Zhang Qian's story also tells us that when communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds, we need to overcome language and cultural barriers in order to complete the task better.
Usage
主要用于形容没有抓住事情的重点，没有理解事情的要点。
It is mainly used to describe not grasping the key points of a matter or not understanding the point of a matter.
Examples
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他学习方法不对，总是不得要领。
tā xuéxí fāngfǎ bù duì, zǒng shì bùdé yào lǐng
His learning method is wrong, and he always misses the point.
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听了半天讲解，还是不得要领。
tīngle bàntiān jiǎngjiě, háishì bùdé yào lǐng
After listening to the explanation for half an hour, he still doesn't understand the point