见微知著

見微知著

jiànwēizhīzhù

idiom

Meanings

1 to see the small and know the great
2 to deduce a whole story from tiny clues
3 to discern trends from minute signs

Characters

manifest; obvious

Examples

优秀的侦探都善于见微知著。

Yōuxiù de zhēntàn dōu shànyú jiànwēizhīzhù.

Excellent detectives are all skilled at deducing the whole picture from tiny clues.

经济学家从细节中见微知著，预测了这次危机。

Jīngjìxuéjiā cóng xìjié zhōng jiànwēizhīzhù, yùcè le zhè cì wēijī.

From the small details, the economist saw the bigger pattern and predicted this crisis.

Tips

history

From 《韩非子·说林上》(Han Feizi, Forest of Persuasions): 圣人见微以知萌，见端以知末 — “the sage sees the faint sign and knows what is sprouting; sees the beginning and knows the end.” Han Fei used the idiom to praise foresight; it has been a staple of Chinese strategic thought ever since.

memory

见 (see) + 微 (faint/tiny) + 知 (know) + 著 (obvious/manifest) → “see-tiny → know-obvious.” The two halves are deliberately opposed: tiny vs. manifest, signal vs. result.

Stroke Order

见 jiàn

微 wēi

知 zhī

著 zhù