舍近求远

捨近求遠

shějìn-qiúyuǎn

idiom #57,948

Meanings

1 to forsake what is near in search of what is distant
2 to seek far afield for what lies close at hand
3 to take the roundabout way

Characters

to give up; abandon

to seek; pursue

Examples

家门口就有超市，你去那么远买东西，真是舍近求远。

Jiāménkǒu jiù yǒu chāoshì, nǐ qù nàme yuǎn mǎi dōngxi, zhēnshì shějìnqiúyuǎn.

There's a supermarket right by your door — going so far to shop is really taking the long way.

答案就在书里，何必舍近求远去问别人？

Dá'àn jiù zài shū lǐ, hébì shějìnqiúyuǎn qù wèn biéren?

The answer is in the book — why go asking strangers instead?

解决方法很简单，不必舍近求远。

Jiějué fāngfǎ hěn jiǎndān, bùbì shějìnqiúyuǎn.

The solution is simple — no need to look far afield.

Tips

history

Rooted in a line from 《孟子·离娄上》: '道在迩而求诸远' — 'the Way is near, yet people seek it far off.' 《后汉书》 later echoed it with '舍近谋远者，劳而无功'. Mild criticism of needlessly roundabout effort.

memory

舍 = discard, 近 = near, 求 = seek, 远 = far. Four characters, four snapshots: throw away the near, chase the far.

Stroke Order

舍 shě

近 jìn

求 qiú

远 yuǎn