CHENGYU
闭门造车(bì mén zào chē)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral, mildly critical
- Source:
- 宋·朱熹《中庸或问》
MEANING
- Literal
- to build a cart behind closed doors
- Figurative meaning
- to work in isolation, out of touch with reality
ORIGIN STORY
The Song philosopher Zhu Xi quoted an old saying: "Build a cart behind closed doors, and drive it out to match the ruts." His point was that shared standards let separate work fit together — but modern usage stresses the risk of losing touch with the world.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to work in a vacuum”
EXAMPLES
做产品要多听用户意见，不能闭门造车。Zuò chǎnpǐn yào duō tīng yònghù yìjiàn, bù néng bì mén zào chē.HSK6
Product makers must listen to users, not build carts behind closed doors.
他的方案闭门造车，完全不符合实际。Tā de fāngàn bì mén zào chē, wánquán bù fúhé shíjì.HSK6
His proposal was built behind closed doors and does not fit reality at all.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Today it criticizes working without outside input; the original saying was actually positive.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01