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井底之蛙

jǐng dǐ zhī wā

a person of narrow outlook

Character by character

井jǐng
well
底dǐ
bottom
之zhī
of
蛙wā
frog

Example

不出去看看,就会成为井底之蛙。
If you never go out and see the world, you'll end up a frog in a well.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Usage and origin

From Zhuangzi (秋水): the frog in a broken well boasts to the turtle of the Eastern Sea, unable to imagine the ocean.

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