一叶障目 (yí yè zhàng mù) — to be blinded by a trivial matter; to miss the bigger picture due to focusing on a minor detail

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'a leaf before the eyes blinds you' — i.e., letting one small detail obscure the whole picture. Often paired with 不见泰山 ('not seeing Mount Tai') for a fuller idiom form.

idiom
to be blinded by a trivial matterto miss the bigger picture due to focusing on a minor detail

Examples

  • 一叶障目，。
    Wǒ men bù néng yīn wèi yí gè xiǎo wèn tí ér yí yè zhàng mù, hū shì le zhěng tǐ jì huà.
    We cannot be blinded by a small problem and overlook the overall plan.
  • ，一叶障目，。
    Tā zhī kàn zhòng yǎn qián de lì yì, yí yè zhàng mù, méi yǒu kǎo lǜ cháng yuǎn de fā zhǎn.
    He only focuses on immediate gains, blinded by a trivial matter, and fails to consider long-term development.
  • ，一叶障目，。
    Fēn xī wèn tí yào quán miàn, bú yào yí yè zhàng mù, bèi xì zhī mò jié suǒ mí huò.
    When analyzing a problem, be comprehensive; don't be blinded by a trivial matter or misled by minor details.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

一叶one leaf
一yīone叶yèleaf
偏正Modifier + head
障目obstruct the eye
障zhàngobstruct目mùeye
动宾Verb + object

A single 叶 blocks the 目, hiding the larger view.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
十
十shí叶yè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 叶 pairs 口 (mouth) with 十 (ten) as an old form meaning cooperate; it later came to mean leaf because it sounded similar.

Open 叶 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
章
章zhāng障zhàng
Same sound today

The left part 阝, written in full as 阜, sits beside 章, which supplies the sound.

Open 障 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.

Open 目 →

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