摸象

mōxiàng
to touch an elephant (of proverbial blind people)

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 摸 mō
  1. to feel with the hand
  2. to touch
  3. to stroke
  4. to grope
  5. to steal
  6. to abstract
2 象 xiàng
  1. elephant
  2. shape
  3. form
  4. appearance
  5. to imitate

classifier: 隻

Containing this entry

合眼摸象 héyǎnmōxiàng to touch an elephant with closed eyes (idiom); to proceed blindly
盲人摸象 mángrénmōxiàng
  1. blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經 dàbān Nièpánjīng); fig. unable to see the big picture
  2. to mistake the part for the whole
  3. unable to see the wood for the trees
眾盲摸象 zhòngmángmōxiàng
  1. multitude of blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經 dàbān Nièpánjīng); fig. unable to see the big picture
  2. to mistake the part for the whole
  3. unable to see the wood for the trees
瞎子摸象 xiāzimōxiàng
  1. blind people touch an elephant (idiom, from Nirvana sutra 大般涅槃經 dàbān Nièpánjīng); fig. unable to see the big picture
  2. to mistake the part for the whole
  3. unable to see the wood for the trees