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闭门造车

bì mén zào chē

to work in isolation, ignoring reality

Character by character

闭bì
shut
门mén
door
造zào
build
车chē
cart

Example

做产品不能闭门造车,要多听用户的意见。
You can't design products in a vacuum; listen to your users.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Usage and origin

Building a cart behind closed doors without checking the road.

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