有眼不识泰山
yǒu​yǎn​bù​shí​tài​shān

to fail to recognize a great person

  1. 有 yǒu verb
    to have
    to have; to possess; to include; to carry (a trait or quality)
  2. 眼 yǎn noun
    eye
    eye; the visual organ of people or animals
  3. 不识 不識 bù​shí
    to not recognize
    To be unable to distinguish or identify; to not know someone or something.
  4. 泰山 tài​shān
    person or thing of great importance
    (metaphor) A person of great distinction or something of immense weight or value; used in the idiom 有眼不识泰山 yǒu​yǎn​bù​shí​tài​shān meaning to fail to recognize a person of great importance.