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众盲摸象

zhòng máng mō xiàngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
multitude of blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[dà bān Niè pán jīng]) / fig. unable to see the big picture / to mistake the part for the whole / unable to see the wood for the trees
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-f06c711a566c80b6. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

眾盲摸象 众盲摸象 [zhong4 mang2 mo1 xiang4] /multitude of blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經|大般涅盘经[da4 ban1 Nie4 pan2 jing1]); fig. unable to see the big picture/to mistake the part for the whole/unable to see the wood for the trees/

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: 眾盲摸象

  • 众
    zhòng

    (bound form) crowd / multitude / (bound form) many / numerous

    Zhòng

    abbr. for 眾議院|众议院[Zhòng yì yuàn], House of Representatives

  • 盲
    máng

    blind

  • 摸
    mō

    to feel with the hand / to touch / to stroke / to grope / to steal / to abstract

    mó

    See the full entry for source details.

  • 象
    xiàng

    elephant / CL:隻|只[zhī] / shape / form / appearance / to imitate

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.