马上看花 — “To look at flowers from horseback”
马上看花 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to observe or do things superficially, without close attention to detail; to take a cursory glance”. Literally, “To look at flowers from horseback”.
马上看花 Pronunciation and Pinyin
马上看花 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 马上看花
Origin and Story of 马上看花
Legend has it that there was a lame man named Guiliang who wished to marry a beautiful wife. Separately, a girl named Yeqing, who had a flaw in her nose, desired an handsome husband.
Both approached Hua Han to act as their matchmaker. Hua Han, intending to bring them together, made a clever arrangement.
On the day of their meeting, he had Guiliang ride a horse to obscure his limp, and for Yeqing to hold a flower close to her nose, as if smelling it, to cover her facial flaw.
Under these conditions, both Guiliang and Yeqing were pleased with each other, having observed only superficially.
Idioms Related to 马上看花
Synonyms of 马上看花
More idioms starting with 马
- mǎ马shàng上gōng功chéng成achieve success quickly, often by military conquest
- mǎ马shàng上qiáng墙tóu头a romantic rendezvous spot
- mǎ马shàng上dé得tiān天xià下win an empire on horseback
- mǎ马shàng上fáng房zi子overtly agree, covertly oppose
- mǎ马bù不tíng停tí蹄advancing tirelessly without stopping
- mǎ马bù不jiě解ān鞍to work without rest
- mǎ马zhōng中guān关wǔ五typographical or scribal errors
- mǎ马yǎng仰rén人fān翻utter chaos and confusion
- mǎ马rù入huà华shān山universal peace and tranquility
- mǎ马dào到gōng功chéng成achieve instant success
- mǎ马dào到chéng成gōng功instant success
- mǎ马qián前zú卒a subordinate working for others
Recommended tools
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →Questions about 马上看花
What does 马上看花 mean?
马上看花 (mǎ shàng kàn huā) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to observe or do things superficially, without close attention to detail; to take a cursory glance”.
How do you pronounce 马上看花?
马上看花 is pronounced mǎ shàng kàn huā in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 马上看花 literally mean?
Literally, 马上看花 means “to look at flowers from horseback”. It is used to mean “to observe or do things superficially, without close attention to detail; to take a cursory glance”.
Where does 马上看花 come from?
马上看花 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 马上看花?
指粗略行事，走马看花。