冰山一角 (bīng shān-yì jiǎo) — (idiom) tip of the iceberg | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A 成语 meaning 'tip of the iceberg' — used to say the small visible part of a problem hides a much larger hidden reality.

idiom

tip of the iceberg

Examples

冰山一角，。
Zhè xiē wèn tí zhǐ shì bīng shān-yì jiǎo, zhēn zhèng de má fan hái méi lái.
These problems are just the tip of the iceberg; the real trouble hasn't come yet.
冰山一角，。
Jǐng chá fā xiàn de xiàn suǒ zhǐ shì bīng shān-yì jiǎo, bèi hòu hái yǒu gèng dà de zǔ zhī.
The clues the police found are just the tip of the iceberg; there is a larger organization behind it.
冰山一角，。
Biǎo miàn shàng kàn dào de zhǐ shì bīng shān-yì jiǎo, shí jì qíng kuàng fù zá dé duō.
What you see on the surface is just the tip of the iceberg; the actual situation is far more complicated.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

冰山

冰bīngice山shānmountain

偏正Modifier + head

一角

一yīone角jiǎocorner

偏正Modifier + head

冰山 means an iceberg, and 一角 means one corner; together they picture the small visible part of a huge problem.

Characters in this word

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

冫水冰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

冫

仌bīng冰bīng

Same sound today

冰 adds 水 (water) to 冫, the short form of 仌; 冫 gives the sound, and 水 shows the meaning.

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

山 shows three mountain peaks side by side.

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.

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

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Idioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.