好高骛远

好高騖遠
hàogāowùyuǎn
idiom #45,353

Meanings

  1. 1 to aim unrealistically high; to bite off more than one can chew
  2. 2 to chase lofty goals while ignoring the basics

Examples

Xuéxí yào jiǎotàshídì, búyào hàogāowùyuǎn.
In learning, you must stay grounded and not aim unrealistically high.
Tā gāng bìyè jiù xiǎng dāng zǒngjīnglǐ, wèimiǎn tài hàogāowùyuǎn le.
Just graduating and already wanting to be CEO is biting off far more than he can chew.

Tips

history
From 《··》: 学者高远 — 'the problem with scholars is that they scorn the humble and near, and chase the lofty and distant, ending with nothing.'
mistakes
is read hào (tone 4, 'to be fond of'), not hǎo. And (wù, to pursue) is commonly confused with (wù, duck) — only with the horse radical is correct here.

Stroke Order

hǎo
gāo
yuǎn