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草色遥看近却无

草色遙看近卻無
cǎosèyáokànjìnquèwú
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the grass-green shows from afar but vanishes up close
  2. 2 a haze of new grass visible only at a distance
  3. 3 classic image of the faint first green of early spring

Examples

初春的草坪，真是草色遥看近却无。
Chūchūn de cǎopíng, zhēn shì cǎo sè yáo kàn jìn què wú.
The early-spring lawn — truly 'the grass-green you see from afar vanishes up close.'
天街小雨润如酥，草色遥看近却无——韩愈的名句。
Tiān jiē xiǎo yǔ rùn rú sū, cǎo sè yáo kàn jìn què wú — Hán Yù de míngjù.
'A fine rain on the capital streets, moist as butter; grass-green from afar but gone up close' — Han Yu's famous lines.

Tips

history
From Han Yu's (韩愈, Tang dynasty) 《早春呈水部张十八员外》: 天街小雨润如酥，草色遥看近却无。最是一年春好处，绝胜烟柳满皇都 — 'Fine rain on the capital streets, tender as butter; grass-green from afar, but gone when you look close. This is the year's best moment of spring, better than willow-mist filling the imperial city.' Han Yu's celebrated capture of the first faint green.
usage
A perfect observation poem: the earliest spring grass is visible only as a tinge from a distance, but when you kneel down there is nothing to see. The phrase is used metaphorically for anything that looks promising from afar but thin up close.

Stroke Order

草 cǎo
色 sè
遥 yáo
看 kàn
近 jìn
却 què
无 wú