sample a morsel and know the whole pot; infer the whole from a part
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
to infer the whole from a small sample; get the gist from a single detail
literaryUsed in formal or literary contexts to indicate reasoning from a sample or clue to understand a larger situation, often in analysis, evaluation, or prediction.
Tā他
de的
lùn论
wén文
wǒ我
zhǐ只
dú读
le了
zhāi摘
yào要
，
cháng尝
dǐng鼎
yī一
luán脔
，
yǐ已
jué觉
jiàn见
jiě解
fēi非
fán凡
。
I only read the abstract of his paper; getting the gist from that sample, I already feel his insights are extraordinary.
Zhè这
fèn份
bào报
gào告
suī虽
bù不
wán完
zhěng整
，
dàn但
wǒ我
men们
cháng尝
dǐng鼎
yī一
luán脔
，
néng能
kàn看
chū出
xiàng项
mù目
de的
dà大
zhì致
qū趋
shì势
。
Though this report is incomplete, by inferring the whole from a part, we can see the general trend of the project.
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Guān观
qí其
zǎo早
qī期
zuò作
pǐn品
，
cháng尝
dǐng鼎
yī一
luán脔
，
biàn便
kě可
yù预
jiàn见
tā他
hòu后
lái来
de的
yì艺
shù术
fēng风
gé格
。
By observing his early works and inferring the whole from a sample, one can foresee his later artistic style.
Yī医
shēng生
jiǎn检
chá查
le了
jǐ几
gè个
guān关
jiàn键
zhǐ指
biāo标
，
cháng尝
dǐng鼎
yī一
luán脔
，
chū初
bù步
pàn判
duàn断
le了
tā他
de的
jiàn健
kāng康
zhuàng状
kuàng况
。
The doctor checked several key indicators; sampling a morsel to know the whole pot, he made a preliminary assessment of his health condition.