# 囫囵吞枣

hú lún tūn zǎo

Take in information without properly understanding it

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Swallow a date whole

**Traditional Chinese:** 囫圇吞棗

**Register:** Critical · conversational

[Effort & growth](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/effort)

## When to use it

Use when someone reads, learns, or accepts ideas without examining or understanding them.

The criticism is about superficial understanding, not simply reading quickly.

## Understanding the expression

A date swallowed whole passes into the body without being chewed and tasted. The figurative point is taking something in without processing it. A learner may remember words while missing their relationships or implications. The expression encourages slower examination where understanding matters. It can also criticize accepting an argument as a whole without checking its individual claims. Careful questions help reveal what has not yet been understood.

## Examples

这本书内容复杂，不能囫囵吞枣地读。

### Traditional Chinese

這本書內容複雜，不能囫圇吞棗地讀。

zhè běn shū nèi róng fù zá ， bù néng hú lún tūn zǎo dì dú 。

The book is complex and should not be read without careful understanding.

他囫囵吞枣地背下答案，却解释不出原因。

### Traditional Chinese

他囫圇吞棗地背下答案，卻解釋不出原因。

tā hú lún tūn zǎo dì bèi xià dá àn ， què jiě shì bù chū yuán yīn 。

He memorized the answers superficially but could not explain the reasoning.

听到新的观点，要认真思考，别囫囵吞枣。

### Traditional Chinese

聽到新的觀點，要認真思考，別囫圇吞棗。

tīng dào xīn de guān diǎn ， yào rèn zhēn sī kǎo ， bié hú lún tūn zǎo 。

Think carefully about new ideas rather than accepting them without examination.

她发现自己以前学语法总是囫囵吞枣，于是重新整理基础。

### Traditional Chinese

她發現自己以前學語法總是囫圇吞棗，於是重新整理基礎。

tā fā xiàn zì jǐ yǐ qián xué yǔ fǎ zǒng shì hú lún tūn zǎo ， yú shì chóng xīn zhěng lǐ jī chǔ 。

She realized she had learned grammar superficially and went back to rebuild the basics.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E5%9B%AB%E5%9C%87%E5%90%9E%E6%A3%97)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=4&webMd=1&la=0)

## Keep exploring

- [虎头蛇尾 hǔ tóu shé wěi Start strongly but finish weakly ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/hu-tou-she-wei)

- [画龙点睛 huà lóng diǎn jīng Add the crucial finishing touch ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/hua-long-dian-jing)

- [怀才不遇 huái cái bù yù Have talent without suitable recognition or opportunity ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/huai-cai-bu-yu)

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