浅尝辄止 (qiǎn cháng zhé zhǐ) — to stop after getting a tiny taste; to dabble in something without going deep; to be superficial in one's approach
Definition
An idiom criticizing someone who gives up after a brief try — 'to dabble and quit.' Implies a negative judgment: the person never reaches real understanding.
idiom
to stop after getting a tiny tasteto dabble in something without going deepto be superficial in one's approach
Examples
- 浅尝辄止，。Xué xí rèn hé jì néng dōu bù néng qiǎn cháng zhé zhǐ, bì xū chí zhī yǐ héng.When learning any skill, you can't just scratch the surface — you must persevere.
- 浅尝辄止，。Tā duì zhè ge wèn tí de yán jiū zhǐ shì qiǎn cháng zhé zhǐ, méi yǒu shēn rù fēn xī.His research on this issue was only superficial; he didn't do any in-depth analysis.
- 浅尝辄止，。Dú shū rú guǒ qiǎn cháng zhé zhǐ, jiù yǒng yuǎn wú fǎ zhēn zhèng lǐ jiě zuò zhě de sī xiǎng.If you only skim books superficially, you'll never truly understand the author's ideas.
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