a little learning is a dangerous thing

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Limited knowledge can lead to overconfidence and mistakes

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Kiến thức hạn chế có thể dẫn đến tự tin quá mức và sai lầm

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English
Sources & notes

Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “a little learning is a dangerous thing” mean?

Limited knowledge can lead to overconfidence and mistakes

Is “a little learning is a dangerous thing” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.