Chinese language vocabulary 汉语词汇 坐井观天( Zuòjíng-guāntiān )

Yì zhī qīngwā zuò zài jǐng lǐ, yì zhī xiǎoniǎo fēi guòlái, luò zài jǐng biān shàng. Qīngwā wèn xiǎoniǎo:”nǐ cóng nǎ’ér fēi lái ya?”Xiǎoniǎo huídá shuō:”wǒ cóng yuǎnchù fēi lái. Wǒ zài tiānkōng zhōng fēi le yì bǎi duō lǐ, kǒu kě le, xiàlái zhǎo diǎn shuǐ hē.” Qīngwā shuō:”péngyǒu,bié shuō dàhuà le! Tiān bú guò jǐngkǒu nàme dà, hái yòng fēi nàme yuǎn ma?” Xiǎoniǎo shuō:”nǐ nòng cuò le, tiān wúbiān-wújì, dà dé hěn n!” Qīngwā xiào le, shuō:”péngyǒu, wǒ tiāntiān zuò zài jǐng lǐ, yì táitóu jiù kànjiàn tiān. Wǒ bú huì nòngcuò de.” Xiǎoniǎo yě xiào le, shuō:”péngyǒu, nǐ shì nòng cuò le. Bù xiàngxìn, nǐ tiào chū jǐngkǒu lái kàn yī kàn ba.”
一只青蛙坐在井里，一只小鸟飞过来，落在井边上。 青蛙问小鸟：“你从哪儿飞来呀？” 小鸟回答说：“我从远处飞来。我在天空中飞了一百多里，口渴了，下来找点水喝。” 青蛙说：“朋友，别说大话了！天不过井口那么大，还用飞那么远吗？” 小鸟说：“你弄错了，天无边无际，大得很哪！” 青蛙笑了，说：“朋友，我天天坐在井里，一抬头就看见天。我不会弄错的。” 小鸟也笑了，说：“朋友，你是弄错了。不相信，你跳出井口来看一看吧。”

As a frog sat at the bottom of a well, a little bird flew over and perched on the well's edge. The frog asked the little bird, "wher did you fly here from?" The little bird replied, "I flew from far away. I flew through the sky for more than a hundred miles, and now I’m thirsty, so I came down to find a drink of water." The frog said, "My friend, enough of your boasting! The sky is no larger than the mouth of this well, how could you have flown so far?" The little bird said, "You've got it wrong, the sky is boundless, it's extremely big!" The frog laughed and said, "My friend, I sit in this well every day, and I need only to look up to see the sky. I cannot be mistaken." The little bird also laughed, saying, "Friend, you are mistaken. If you don't believe me, jump out of the well and take a look."

Words：
青蛙qīngwā：frog (n. )
井jǐng： well (n.)
渴kě： thirsty (v.)
大话dàhuà： big talk (n. )
跳tiào： jump (v. )
弄错了nòng cuò le： make a mistake; be mistaken
无边无际wú biān wú jì： boundless

Meaning：

坐井观天：坐在井底看天只能看到广阔天空的一小局部。比喻眼界小，见识少。

Looking up from the bottom of a well, one can only see a small part of the spacious sky. The proverb is a metaphor for having a narrow outlook, lacking in knowledge and experience.

Sentences：

1.Háizǐ men yào rènzhēn xuéxí gè mén gōngkè, búduàn kāikuò yǎnjiè, zēngzhǎng jiànshí, jué bù néng zuòjǐng-guāntiān.
孩子们要认真学习各门功课，不断开阔眼界，增长见识，决不能坐井观天。

Children must study diligently in all courses, to constantly broaden their horizons, and increase their knowledge. They must not 坐井观天.

 

2. Kàn wèntí yào quánmiàn, bú yào rènwéi zhǎngwò bùfèn jiù rènshí le quánbù, nà zhīshì zuòjǐng-guāntiān de xiǎngfǎ.
看问题要全面，不要认为掌握部分就认识了全部，那只是坐井观天的想法。

One must look at all aspects of a problem, and not think that by grasping a part, one knows the whole – that is the mindset of 坐井观天.