鼠目寸光 (shǔ mù cùn guāng) — shortsighted, lacking foresight, unable to see the big picture

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'shallow and shortsighted' — used to criticize someone for chasing only small, immediate gains and ignoring the bigger picture. Stronger and more literary than the plain word 短视.

idiom
shortsightedlacking foresightunable to see the big picture

Examples

  • ，鼠目寸光。
    Tā zhī kàn yǎn qián lì yì, zhēn shì shǔ mù cùn guāng.
    He only looks at immediate gains — truly shortsighted.
  • 鼠目寸光。
    shǔ mù cùn guāng De rén hěn nán zuò chū cháng yuǎn guī huà.
    Shortsighted people find it hard to make long-term plans.
  • 鼠目寸光，。
    Gōng sī bù néng shǔ mù cùn guāng, yào zhòng shì wèi lái fā zhǎn.
    The company can't be shortsighted; it must focus on future development.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

鼠目rat eyes
鼠shǔrat目mùeye
偏正Modifier + head
寸光inch of light
寸cùninch光guānglight
偏正Modifier + head

鼠目 means rat eyes and 寸光 means an inch of light, together picturing very narrow sight.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 鼠 pictures a rat: the upper part looks like an open mouth with teeth, while the lower part shows two feet on the left and a tail on the right.

Open 鼠 →

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 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

寸 has two unrelated original forms: a line on the hand and an abbreviated form of another character. It was borrowed for its sound, so the picture is unrelated to the modern meaning.

Open 寸 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →

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