小巫见大巫

小巫見大巫
xiǎowūjiàndàwū
idiom #26,684

Meanings

  1. 1 to pale into insignificance by comparison
  2. 2 lit. a minor magician in the presence of a great one
  3. 3 small fry meeting a big fish

Examples

Tā de chéngjì hé xuébà xiāng bǐ, zhēn shì xiǎowū jiàn dàwū.
His grades pale in comparison to the top student's.
Wǒmen gōngsī de guīmó, zài hángyè jùtóu miànqián, jiǎnzhí shì xiǎowū jiàn dàwū.
Our company's scale is nothing compared to the industry giants.

Tips

history
This idiom comes from a story in the Three Kingdoms period. (wū) refers to a shaman or sorcerer. A lesser shaman loses his powers in the presence of a greater one — used metaphorically to show how the lesser is dwarfed by the greater.
usage
Usually used to humbly downplay one's own abilities, or to highlight how impressive someone/something truly is by comparison.

Stroke Order

xiǎo
jiàn