see the forest for the trees vs see the forest through the trees

Both phrases are correct, but they have slightly different meanings. 'See the forest for the trees' means to see the big picture or overall situation, while 'see the forest through the trees' means to see the details within the bigger picture. They are not interchangeable.

Last updated: March 28, 2024 • 659 views

see the forest for the trees

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to mean seeing the big picture or overall situation.

This phrase is used to describe someone who is unable to see or understand the overall situation because they are too focused on the details.

Examples:

She was so focused on the minor issues that she couldn't see the forest for the trees.
Don't get lost in the details; make sure you can see the forest for the trees.
Sometimes we need to step back and see the forest for the trees to understand the whole situation.
He tends to see the forest for the trees, missing the important details.
It's important to be able to see the forest for the trees in order to make good decisions.

Alternatives:

see the big picture
see the whole picture
see the overall situation
see the broader perspective
see the larger context

see the forest through the trees

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to mean seeing the details within the bigger picture.

This phrase is used to describe someone who is able to focus on the details within a larger situation or problem.

Examples:

She has a keen eye for detail and can see the forest through the trees.
Even though the project is complex, he can see the forest through the trees and identify the key issues.
It's important to be able to see the forest through the trees to understand the nuances of the situation.
While others may miss the details, she can see the forest through the trees.
He is able to see the forest through the trees and find solutions to complex problems.

Alternatives:

focus on the details within the bigger picture
see the nuances
see the specifics within the general
see the details within the context
see the intricacies

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

see the forest for the trees vs see the forest through the trees