一鳞半爪 — “A glimpse of the whole”
一鳞半爪 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a glimpse of the whole”. A small, fragmentary part of a larger entity; scattered and incomplete information or details. Literally, “one scale, half a claw”.
一鳞半爪 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 一yī
- 鳞lín
- 半bàn
- 爪zhǎo
一鳞半爪 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 一鳞半爪
Origin and Story of 一鳞半爪
During the Tang Dynasty, the renowned poet Bai Juyi invited fellow poets Yuan Zhen, Liu Yuxi, and Wei Chu to his home. He suggested they compose poems while enjoying wine, proposing 'Recalling Jinling' as the theme.
However, Liu Yuxi, feeling disheartened by his stalled official career, wrote 'Recalling the West Han Mountain,' a profound poem that reflected on the past while lamenting his present circumstances.
Bai Juyi praised him, saying, 'The four of us went deep-sea treasure hunting. You found the dragon pearl, but we only managed to get 'one scale and half a claw' (一鳞半爪) from the dragon, meaning we only got fragmentary insights compared to your complete masterpiece.'
Idioms Related to 一鳞半爪
More idioms starting with 一
- yī一dīng丁bù不shí识completely illiterate
- yī一dīng丁diǎn点er儿a tiny bit
- yī一bù不zuò作，，èr二bù不xiū休Finish what you start
- yī一bù不zuò做，，èr二bù不xiū休in for a penny, in for a pound
- yī一bù不yā压zhòng众，，bǎi百bù不suí随yī一The minority cannot prevail against the majority
- yī一bù不niǔ扭zhòng众One person cannot defy the crowd
- yī一shì世zhī之xióng雄A hero of a generation
- yī一shì世lóng龙mén门A generation's revered influential figure
- yī一qiū丘yī一hè壑live contentedly in nature
- yī一qiū丘zhī之hé貉birds of a feather
- yī一sī丝yī一háo毫the slightest amount
- yī一sī丝bù不luàn乱perfectly orderly and neat
Questions about 一鳞半爪
- What does 一鳞半爪 mean?
- 一鳞半爪 (yī lín bàn zhǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a glimpse of the whole”.
- How do you pronounce 一鳞半爪?
- 一鳞半爪 is pronounced yī lín bàn zhǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 一鳞半爪 literally mean?
- Literally, 一鳞半爪 means “one scale, half a claw”. It is used to mean “a glimpse of the whole”.
- Where does 一鳞半爪 come from?
- 一鳞半爪 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 一鳞半爪?
- 原指龙在云中，东露一鳞，西露半爪，看不到它的全貌。比喻零星片段的事物。