木を見て森を見ず（きをみてもりをみず）

Japanese vocabulary

Meaning: to not see the forest for the trees; to not see the wood for the trees; to be caught up with trivial matters and lose sight of the big picture

See it used in real works

• Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
• Hear “木を見て森を見ず” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)