Dictionary › 望洋兴叹

望洋兴叹

wàng yáng xīng tàn

4-character word Traditional 望洋興嘆

What 望洋兴叹 means

1. (lit.) to gaze at the ocean and lament one's inadequacy (idiom)
2. (fig.) to feel powerless and incompetent (to perform a task)

The characters in 望洋兴叹

• 望wàngfull moon; to hope; to expect
• 洋yángocean; vast; foreign
• 兴xìngfeeling or desire to do sth; interest in sth; excitement
• 叹tànto sigh; to exclaim