zǒumǎguānhuā

走马观花

Word · IdiomTraditional走馬觀花

skim over; observe cursorily; superficial glance

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

1 sense · 3 examples
1.

idiom

to look at flowers while riding a horse; to observe something cursorily; to gain a superficial understanding through hasty observation

formal

Originally described the pleasure of viewing spring flowers on horseback. Now used metaphorically to describe hasty, superficial observation or study without deep understanding. Often carries a critical connotation implying lack of thoroughness. A variant form is 走马看花.

Xué学
xí习
bù不
néng能
zǒu走
mǎ马
guān观
huā花
 ,
yào要
jiǎo脚
tà踏
shí实
dì地
 ,
rèn认
zhēn真
zuān钻
yán研
 。

One cannot study by just skimming over the material; one must be down-to-earth and diligent in research.

Tā他
zhǐ只
shì是
zǒu走
mǎ马
guān观
huā花
dì地
cān参
guān观
le了
yī一
xià下
bó博
wù物
guǎn馆
 ,
shén什
me么
dōu都
méi没
jì记
zhù住
 。

He only took a cursory look around the museum and didn't remember anything.

Show 1 more example
Zhè这
zhǒng种
zǒu走
mǎ马
guān观
huā花
shì式
de的
diào调
yán研
wú无
fǎ法
fā发
xiàn现
wèn问
tí题
de的
shí实
zhì质
 。

This kind of perfunctory investigation cannot discover the essence of the problem.