see the forest for the trees
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Focus on details rather than the overall situation
Literally: perceive the forest as individual trees
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
You can't see the forest for the trees.Thấy cây mà chẳng thấy rừng.
Tatoeba sentence #323634 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (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 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “see the forest for the trees” mean?
Focus on details rather than the overall situation Literally: perceive the forest as individual trees
Is “see the forest for the trees” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.