CHENGYU
画地为牢(huà dì wéi láo)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 汉·司马迁《报任少卿书》
MEANING
- Literal
- to draw a circle on the ground as a prison
- Figurative meaning
- to restrict oneself within self-imposed limits
ORIGIN STORY
Sima Qian wrote that even if the ground were merely marked as a prison, a gentleman would not enter it — honor made the boundary real. Today the phrase more often criticizes unnecessary self-restriction.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to box oneself in”
EXAMPLES
别画地为牢，多出去看看世界吧。Bié huà dì wéi láo, duō chūqù kànkan shìjiè ba.HSK6
Do not draw a prison around yourself — get out and see the world.
不敢尝试新事物，就是给自己画地为牢。Bù gǎn chángshì xīn shìwù, jiù shì gěi zìjǐ huà dì wéi láo.HSK6
Never daring to try new things is drawing a prison on your own ground.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note the reading: 为 is wéi (to act as). The limit is self-imposed, not external.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01