You can't see the forest for the trees
Meaning: Being too focused on small details can prevent you from seeing the overall picture.
Origin: English proverb from the 16th century, first recorded by John Heywood in 1546.
Translations
- French: On ne voit pas la forêt à cause des arbres (literally: One doesn't see the forest because of the trees)
- Spanish: Los árboles no dejan ver el bosque (literally: The trees don't let you see the forest)
- Japanese: 木を見て森を見ず (Ki wo mite mori wo mizu) (literally: Seeing the trees but not the forest)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- The wolf changes his coat but not his character — Surface appearances can change, but a person's fundamental nature remains the same.
- Not all who wander are lost — Those who explore unconventional paths may have a deeper sense of direction than it appea…
- Every person is a mirror to another — We see our own nature reflected in how we treat others and how others respond to us.
- A man's home is his castle — What more sacred, what more strongly guarded by every holy feeling, than a man's own home…
- Behind every great man is a great woman — Significant male achievement typically depends on crucial female support, often unrecogni…
- Clothes don't make the man — External appearances cannot determine a person's true character, integrity, or worth.
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