画 地 自 限

huà dì zì xiàndictionary entry

lit. to draw a line on the ground to keep within (idiom) / fig. to impose restrictions on oneself

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-ca92563625a9be11. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

畫地自限 画地自限 [hua4 di4 zi4 xian4] /lit. to draw a line on the ground to keep within (idiom)/fig. to impose restrictions on oneself/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 畫地自限

画
huà
to draw / to paint / picture / painting (CL:幅[fú],張|张[zhāng]) / to draw (a line) (variant of 劃|划[huà]) / stroke of a Chinese character (variant of 劃|划[huà]) / (calligraphy) horizontal stroke (variant of 劃|划[huà])
地
de
-ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
dì
earth / ground / field / place / land / CL:片[piàn]
自
zì
(bound form) self / oneself / from / since / naturally / as a matter of course
限
xiàn
to limit / to restrict / (bound form) limit / bound

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.