略知皮毛 lüè zhī pí máo smattering of knowledge

Explanation

比喻只是略微懂得一点儿皮毛，知识肤浅，理解不深。

To describe someone who only has a superficial understanding or slight knowledge of something.

Origin Story

小明从小对中国历史很感兴趣，他读了不少相关的书籍，但由于时间有限，他只能对一些重要事件略知皮毛。一次，他和历史老师讨论秦始皇的生平，小明只记得秦始皇统一六国，修建长城，焚书坑儒这些片段，对很多细节和背景知识都无法深入解释。老师听后，笑着说：“看来你对中国历史只是略知皮毛啊，想要深入了解还需要继续努力。”小明听了老师的话，意识到自己对中国历史的了解还很肤浅，他决定更加努力地学习，争取对中国历史有更深入的理解。

xiǎomíng cóng xiǎo duì zhōngguó lìshǐ hěn gǎn xìngqù, tā dú le bù shǎo xiāngguān de shūjí, dàn yóuyú shíjiān yǒuxiàn, tā zhǐ néng duì yīxiē zhòngyào shìjiàn lüè zhī pí máo. yī cì, tā hé lìshǐ lǎoshī tǎolùn qín shǐhuáng de shēngpíng, xiǎomíng zhǐ jì de qín shǐhuáng tǒngyī liù guó, xiūjiàn chángchéng, fénshū kēngrú zhèxiē piànduàn, duì hěn duō xìjié hé bèijǐng zhīshì dōu wúfǎ shēnrù jiěshì. lǎoshī tīng hòu, xiàozhe shuō: “kàn lái nǐ duì zhōngguó lìshǐ zhǐshì lüè zhī pí máo a, yào xiǎng shēnrù liǎojiě hái xūyào jìxù nǔlì.” xiǎomíng tīng le lǎoshī de huà, yìshí dào zìjǐ duì zhōngguó lìshǐ de liǎojiě hái hěn fūqiǎn, tā juédìng gèngjiā nǔlì de xuéxí, zhēngqǔ duì zhōngguó lìshǐ yǒu gèng shēnrù de liǎojiě.

Xiaoming has been interested in Chinese history since he was young. He has read a lot of related books, but due to limited time, he only has a superficial understanding of some important events. Once, he discussed Qin Shi Huang's life with his history teacher. Xiaoming only remembered that Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, built the Great Wall, and burned books and buried scholars. He couldn't explain many details and background knowledge in depth. After listening, the teacher said with a smile, "It seems that you only have a superficial understanding of Chinese history. To deepen your understanding, you need to continue to work hard." After hearing the teacher's words, Xiaoming realized that his understanding of Chinese history was shallow, so he decided to study harder to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese history.

Usage

用作谓语、定语；指对某事物的了解仅限于表面，不深入。

yòng zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ; zhǐ duì mǒu shìwù de liǎojiě jǐnxiàn yú biǎomiàn, bù shēnrù

Used as predicate or attributive; refers to a superficial understanding of something.

Examples

  • 他对这门学问只略知皮毛，不能妄加评论。

    tā duì zhè mén xuéwèn zhǐ lüè zhī pí máo, bù néng wàng jiā pínglùn.

    He only has a smattering of knowledge in this field, so he cannot comment rashly.

  • 他虽然学过几年绘画，但只是略知皮毛，水平有限。

    tā suīrán xué guò jǐ nián huìhuà, dàn zhǐshì lüè zhī pí máo, shuǐpíng yǒuxiàn

    Although he has studied painting for a few years, he only knows the basics and has limited skills.

Related Idioms

  • 略知一二

  • 略识之无

Opposite Idioms

  • 精通

  • 熟练