坐井观天zuò jǐng guān tiānignorant and narrow-minded

1. 1.

   ignorant and narrow-mindedidiom

Figurative meaning

Ignorant and narrow-minded.

Literal meaning

To view the sky from the bottom of a well.

• 坐to sit
• 井a well
• 观to look at
• 天sky

The story

Someone who sits in a well looking at the sky and says the sky is small is wrong; it is not that the sky is small.

坐井观天 can criticize a view formed from too little experience.

1. HSK 2

   多出去看看，不要坐井观天。

   Duō chūqù kànkan, búyào zuò jǐng guān tiān.

   Go out and look around more; don't judge the world from a tiny view.

2. HSK 3

   他觉得自己的城市最好，这是坐井观天。

   Tā juéde zìjǐ de chéngshì zuì hǎo, zhè shì zuò jǐng guān tiān.

   He thinks his own city is the best; that's a narrow-minded view.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   我觉得这本书最好看。

   Wǒ juéde zhè běn shū zuì hǎokàn.

   I think this book is the best.

2. 
   Speaker B:

   你还看过别的书吗？

   Nǐ hái kànguo bié de shū ma?

   Have you read any other books?

3. 
   Speaker A:

   没有。

   Méiyǒu.

   No.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   那你是坐井观天，多读读别的书吧。

   Nà nǐ shì zuò jǐng guān tiān, duō dúdu bié de shū ba.

   Then your view is too narrow; read some other books.

1. 1.What does 坐井观天 mean?

   AIgnorant and narrow-mindedBEnjoying the starsCWorking very hard
2. 2.Which sentence uses 坐井观天 correctly?

   A只去过一个地方就说哪儿都一样，是坐井观天。B今天天气很坐井观天。C他坐井观天地喝水。
3. 3.Which word fits best? 不了解别的地方，就别____。 (If you don't know other places, don't judge narrowly.)

   A坐井观天B望梅止渴C叶公好龙

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Related idioms

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• 走马观花zǒu mǎ guān huāsuperficial understanding from cursory observationNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
• 井底之蛙jǐng dǐ zhī wāa person of limited outlook and experienceHSK 7–9
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• 一年一度yī nián yī dù(idiom) annual; once a yearNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
• 一箭双雕yī jiàn shuāng diāoto kill two birds with one stoneNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus

Browse every entry in the Chinese idioms dictionary.