How to Pronounce "not able to see the forest for the trees"
expression
NAHT AY-buhl TOO see THUH FAW-rist fer THUH TREEZ
NOT AY-buhl too see THUH FOR-ist faw THUH TREEZ
Definition
To focus too much on small details and miss the overall important situation.
IPA Transcription
American English
ˈnɑt/ /ˈeɪbəɫ/ /ˈtu/, /tə/, /tɪ/ /ˈsi/ /ˈðə/, /ðə/, /ði/ /ˈfɔɹəst/, /ˈfɔɹɪst/ /ˈfɔɹ/, /fɝ/, /fɹɝ/ /ˈðə/, /ðə/, /ði/ /ˈtɹiz
British English
nˈɒt/ /ˈeɪbəl/ /tˈuː/ /sˈiː/ /ðə, ði/ /fˈɒɹɪst/ /fˈɔː/ /ðə, ði/ /tɹˈiːz
Simplified Pronunciation
US
NAHT AY-buhl TOO see THUH FAW-rist fer THUH TREEZ
UK
NOT AY-buhl too see THUH FOR-ist faw THUH TREEZ
Listen in Context
Sometimes, people are not able to see the forest for the trees.
If you focus too much on details, you might be not able to see the forest for the trees.
My teacher said I am not able to see the forest for the trees in my essay.
He worries so much about minor mistakes that he's not able to see the forest for the trees.