諺語 · a single proverb
眼高手低
What does 眼高手低 (yǎn gāo shǒu dī) mean?
眼高手低 (yǎn gāo shǒu dī) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "eyes high, hands low." In use it means: Having high standards or grand ambitions but lacking the skill to execute them; the gap between vision and ability. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Rooster.
Literally: "eyes high, hands low."
The reading
The eye climbs to the summit while the hand stays at base camp. Ambition without matching skill produces frustration shaped like a mountain. Close the gap by bringing the hand up, not the eye down. Lower standards are not the answer. Higher capability is. And capability rises only through practice that the ambitious eye often considers beneath it.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common folk expression; widely used in educational and artistic contexts
Sits beside
井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Someone with an extremely narrow view of the world, who mistakes the small circle of sky above the well for the whole sky.
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán
Nothing deep-a skill, a habit, a ruin-forms overnight.
心急吃不了熱豆腐
xīn jí chī bù liǎo rè dòu fu
Impatience will not speed things up.
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Rooster, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 眼高手低 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 眼高手低 (yǎn gāo shǒu dī) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Common folk expression; widely used in educational and artistic contexts. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 眼高手低?
In Mandarin it is yǎn gāo shǒu dī. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 眼高手低 aloud in Mandarin.