管中窥豹

管中窺豹

guǎnzhōng-kuībào

idiom #81,716

Meanings

1 to see a leopard through a tube
2 to see only part of the picture
3 to get an idea of the whole from one part

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

只读了一章就评价整本书，未免有些管中窥豹。

Zhǐ dú le yì zhāng jiù píngjià zhěng běn shū, wèimiǎn yǒuxiē guǎnzhōng-kuībào.

Judging the whole book after reading one chapter is rather like seeing a leopard through a tube.

HSK 7-9

管中窥豹，可见一斑，从这件小事就能看出他的为人。

Guǎnzhōng-kuībào, kějiàn-yìbān, cóng zhè jiàn xiǎoshì jiù néng kànchū tā de wéirén.

One spot tells you the leopard: this one small matter shows what kind of person he is.

Tips

history

From 《世说新语》: when the boy 王献之 remarked on a game, the retainers watching dismissed him with 管中窥豹，时见一斑, 'peering at a leopard through a tube, he glimpses one spot at a time'. Modern speech often turns it round as 管中窥豹，可见一斑: a single spot is enough to picture the whole.

Stroke Order

管 guǎn

中 zhōng

窥 kuī

豹 bào