Translation guide
This English phrase describes someone who sees things from a limited perspective, lacks broad-mindedness, or focuses only on a small part of a bigger picture. Japanese expresses this through adjectives, verbs, and idiomatic phrases that emphasize narrowness of vision, stubbornness, or inability to see the whole.
Describing a person or their thinking as limited, not open to new ideas, or focused on trivial details.
Literally 'field of vision is narrow'. The most direct and common way to say someone has a narrow view. Used for both literal and figurative narrow-mindedness.
彼は視野が狭いから、他の意見を聞かない。
He has a narrow view, so he doesn't listen to other opinions.
Means narrow-minded, intolerant, or petty. '了見' refers to one's way of thinking or disposition.
そんな了見の狭いことを言うな。
Don't say such narrow-minded things.
Literally 'heart is narrow'. Implies being ungenerous, petty, or intolerant. Often used for personal grudges or lack of forgiveness.
心が狭い人は友達が少ない。
Narrow-minded people have few friends.
Formal/literary phrase meaning 'to fall into a narrow perspective'. Often used in business or analytical contexts.
専門家は時に視野狭窄に陥りやすい。
Experts sometimes tend to have a narrow view.
Describing someone who pays attention only to details or one aspect, ignoring the overall situation.
Proverb: 'Can't see the forest for the trees.' Perfect for when someone is too focused on details to grasp the whole.
彼は細かい数字にこだわりすぎて、木を見て森を見ずだ。
He's so fixated on the small numbers that he can't see the forest for the trees.
Means 'lose sight of the big picture'. Used in strategic or business contexts.
細部にこだわって大局を見失ってはいけない。
Don't get caught up in details and lose sight of the big picture.
To be caught up in a part/portion. Implies inability to see beyond a limited aspect.
彼はいつも部分にとらわれて全体が見えていない。
He always gets caught up in the parts and doesn't see the whole.
Describing someone who refuses to consider other perspectives, often due to prejudice or inflexibility.
Adjectival noun meaning narrow-minded, intolerant, parochial. Stronger than 視野が狭い, implies bigotry or provincialism.
彼の偏狭な考え方にはうんざりだ。
I'm fed up with his narrow-minded way of thinking.
Literally 'head is hard'. Means stubborn, inflexible, set in one's ways. Casual and common.
あの人は頭が固くて、新しいやり方を絶対に受け入れない。
That person is so stubborn; they never accept new ways of doing things.
To shut oneself in one's shell; to be closed off to outside views. Metaphorical.
彼は批判を恐れて自分の殻に閉じこもっている。
He's afraid of criticism and has shut himself off in his own little world.
All three mean 'narrow-minded', but with different nuances. 視野が狭い is the most general and neutral, focusing on limited perspective or knowledge. 了見が狭い implies intolerance or pettiness in one's thinking. 心が狭い suggests a lack of generosity or forgiveness, often in personal relationships.
Directly translating 'have a narrow view of things' as 狭い見方を持っている is grammatically possible but unnatural. Use the idiomatic expressions above instead.
彼は視野が狭くて、他の可能性を考えようとしない。
He has a narrow view of things and never considers other possibilities.
そんな狭い見方をしないで、全体を見てごらん。
Don't have such a narrow view; look at the whole picture.
狭い見方 is acceptable in casual speech but less idiomatic than 視野が狭い.