閉門造車

See also: 闭门造车

Chinese

FWOTD – 11 May 2015

	to close; stop up; shut to close; stop up; shut; obstruct	opening; door; gate opening; door; gate; doorway; gateway; valve; switch; way to do something; knack; family; house; (religious) sect; school (of thought); class; category; phylum or division (taxonomy)	to make; to build; to invent to make; to build; to invent; to manufacture	vehicle on land; car; machine vehicle on land; car; machine; to shape with a lathe
trad. (閉門造車)	閉	門	造	車
simp. (闭门造车)	闭	门	造	车
Literally: “build a cart (behind) closed doors”.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): bìménzàojū, bìménzàochē
(Zhuyin): ㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄣˊ ㄗㄠˋ ㄐㄩ, ㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄣˊ ㄗㄠˋ ㄔㄜ
Cantonese (Jyutping): bai³ mun⁴ zou⁶ geoi¹
Min Nan (POJ): pì-mn̂g-chō-ki / pì-mn̂g-chō-ku

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, literary)⁺
  - Pinyin: bìménzàojū
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄣˊ ㄗㄠˋ ㄐㄩ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bihmentzawjiu
  - IPA ^(key): /pi⁵¹ mən³⁵ t͡sɑʊ̯⁵¹ t͡ɕy⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, colloquial)⁺
  - Pinyin: bìménzàochē
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄧˋ ㄇㄣˊ ㄗㄠˋ ㄔㄜ
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bihmentzawche
  - IPA ^(key): /pi⁵¹ mən³⁵ t͡sɑʊ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰɤ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: bai³ mun⁴ zou⁶ geoi¹
  - Yale: bai mùhn jouh gēui
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bai³ mun⁴ dzou⁶ goey¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: bei³ mun⁴ zou⁶ gêu¹
  - IPA ^(key): /pɐi̯³³ muːn²¹ t͡sou̯²² kɵy̯⁵⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pì-mn̂g-chō-ki / pì-mn̂g-chō-ku
  - Tâi-lô: pì-mn̂g-tsō-ki / pì-mn̂g-tsō-ku
  - Phofsit Daibuun: piemngzoixky, piemngzoixkw
  - IPA (Xiamen): /pi²¹⁻⁵³ mŋ̍²⁴⁻²² t͡so²²⁻²¹ ki⁴⁴/, /pi²¹⁻⁵³ mŋ̍²⁴⁻²² t͡so²²⁻²¹ ku⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /pi⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ mŋ̍²⁴⁻²² t͡so⁴¹⁻²² ki³³/, /pi⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ mŋ̍²⁴⁻²² t͡so⁴¹⁻²² ku³³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /pi²¹⁻⁵³ mŋ̍¹³⁻²² t͡so²²⁻²¹ ki⁴⁴/, /pi²¹⁻⁵³ mŋ̍¹³⁻²² t͡so²²⁻²¹ ku⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Taipei): /pi¹¹⁻⁵³ mŋ̍²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡so³³⁻¹¹ ki⁴⁴/, /pi¹¹⁻⁵³ mŋ̍²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡so³³⁻¹¹ ku⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /pi²¹⁻⁴¹ mŋ̍²³⁻³³ t͡sɤ³³⁻²¹ ki⁴⁴/, /pi²¹⁻⁴¹ mŋ̍²³⁻³³ t͡sɤ³³⁻²¹ ku⁴⁴/

Idiom

閉門造車

do something irrespective of external circumstances; to operate in a vacuum
- 在中國男籃敗在希臘隊腳下後，姚明並沒有發火，而是中肯地提出了自己的意見，他說：“閉門造車打國內的聯賽永遠都是這樣，必須讓他們出去打比賽，不是一個一個隊的出去，而是一個一個隊員的出去，殺入外面每一個隊。這樣，我們的籃球整體水準才有可能提升。” [MSC, trad.]
  在中国男篮败在希腊队脚下后，姚明并没有发火，而是中肯地提出了自己的意见，他说：“闭门造车打国内的联赛永远都是这样，必须让他们出去打比赛，不是一个一个队的出去，而是一个一个队员的出去，杀入外面每一个队。这样，我们的篮球整体水准才有可能提升。” [MSC, simp.]
  From: 2006: 宇争 (Yu Zheng), 中肯提出意见姚明:请别再闭门造车 (Yao Ming's opinion hits home: "Please don't operate in a vacuum anymore")
  Zài Zhōngguó nánlán bài zài Xīlà duì jiǎoxià hòu, Yáo Míng bìng méiyǒu fāhuǒ, érshì zhōngkěn dì tíchū le zìjǐ de yìjiàn, tā shuō: “Bìménzàochē dǎ guónèi de liánsài yǒngyuǎn dōu shì zhèyàng, bìxū ràng tāmen chūqù dǎ bǐsài, bùshì yīge yīge duì de chūqù, érshì yīge yīge duìyuán de chūqù, shā rù wàimiàn měi yīge duì. Zhèyàng, wǒmen de lánqiú zhěngtǐ shuǐzhǔn cái yǒu kěnéng tíshēng.” [Pinyin]
  After the men's basketball team for China lost at the hands of Greece, Yao Ming did not become angry. Instead, he offered his own opinion, which cut right to the heart of the matter, "It will always be like this if we operate in a vacuum, and are forever only playing local league games in our own country. We need to let them go abroad to compete. It's not about individual teams going abroad. Rather, it's about individual team members going abroad and fighting their way onto the teams of other countries. That's the only way we'll be able raise the level of our basketball as a whole.