相形见绌 pale in comparison
Explanation
指相比之下，显得不足或逊色。
to mean that something appears insufficient or inferior in comparison to something else.
Origin Story
话说唐朝时期，有个名叫李白的诗人，他的诗才横溢，无人能及。一天，他与一位年轻的诗人王维一起参加宫廷诗会。王维虽然才华出众，但面对李白如此惊艳的诗作，也不禁相形见绌。王维的诗作虽然也很好，但与李白的诗相比，就显得平庸许多，华丽的辞藻和飘逸的意境也黯然失色。这次诗会之后，王维开始更加努力地学习和创作，希望能赶上李白的水平。他潜心研究诗歌的各种技巧，不断锤炼自己的语言功底。日复一日，年复一年，王维的诗歌技艺不断进步，最终成为一代诗坛宗师。这个故事告诉我们，任何人都不能满足于现状，要不断努力才能超越自己，才能取得更大的成就。
During the Tang Dynasty, there was a poet named Li Bai whose talent was unparalleled. One day, he attended a court poetry gathering with a young poet named Wang Wei. Although Wang Wei was talented, he could not help but feel insignificant compared to Li Bai’s stunning poems. While Wang Wei’s poems were good, they seemed ordinary next to Li Bai’s. The gorgeous vocabulary and elegant atmosphere of Wang Wei's poems also paled in comparison. After this gathering, Wang Wei worked even harder to improve his skills, hoping to catch up with Li Bai. He immersed himself in studying poetic techniques and honed his language skills. Day after day, year after year, his poetic abilities improved, and he eventually became a master of poetry. This story tells us that one should never be satisfied with the status quo; constant effort is essential to surpass oneself and achieve greater success.
Usage
用作谓语、定语；多用于比较人物或事物。
Used as predicate and attributive; often used to compare people or things.
Examples
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他的作品和大师相比，真是相形见绌。
tā de zuòpǐn hé dàshī xiāng bǐ, zhēnshi xiāng xíng jiàn chù
His works are insignificant compared to those of the masters.
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这次比赛，我们队相形见绌，输得很惨。
zhè cì bǐsài, wǒmen duì xiāng xíng jiàn chù, shū de hěn cǎn
In this competition, our team was overshadowed and lost badly.