/no ˈbeɾ ˈmas aˈʎa de sus naˈɾiθes/ lit. ‘not to see beyond your own nose’
Spanish idiom, colloquial. Someone who only knows their own small world and thinks it’s everything.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use No ver más allá de sus narices
?
Colloquial and critical: you say it about someone whose view stops at their own concerns, never as a compliment. It’s nearly always negative and about someone else: “no ve más allá de sus narices”, “son incapaces de ver más allá de sus narices”. The possessive changes with the person (“de mis narices”, “de sus narices”), but narices stays plural.
No ver más allá de sus narices
in real sentences
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No ve más allá de sus narices.
He can’t see past the end of his nose.
Tatoeba, sentence by termito2nd, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Tienen una mentalidad provinciana que no les deja ver más allá de sus narices.
They have a provincial mindset that won’t let them see past the end of their noses.
Tatoeba, sentence by Seael, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does No ver más allá de sus narices
come from?
The Real Academia’s dictionary lists “no ver alguien más allá de sus narices” as a colloquial phrase meaning to be not very sharp or short on foresight. The picture explains itself, and English has a close match in “can’t see past the end of your nose”. We found no record of when it started.
Mistakes learners make with No ver más allá de sus narices
Using it for bad eyesight. It’s about someone’s outlook; for someone who literally can’t see well, Spanish says “no ve tres en un burro” (can’t see three people on a donkey).
Other Spanish idioms like No ver más allá de sus narices
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?
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