舍近求远

捨近求遠

shějìnqiúyuǎn

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。

Jiā ménkǒu jiù yǒu chāoshì, nǐ qù nàme yuǎn mǎi dōngxi, zhēn shì shě jìn qiú yuǎn.

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 shě jìn qiú yuǎn 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 shě jìn qiú yuǎn.

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