plate rim
Loading your saved state.
to broaden horizons
Used in a fixed expression to express that someone looks beyond their own limited horizon and opens themselves up to new ideas, other cultures, or unfamiliar topics.
Es ist wichtig, auch mal über den Tellerrand zu schauen und zu sehen, wie andere Unternehmen arbeiten.
It is important to broaden your horizons from time to time and see how other companies work.
'Tellerrand' is made up of 'der Teller' (the plate) and 'der Rand' (the edge/rim). So it literally describes the rim of a plate.
Pass auf, die Suppe schwappt gleich über den Tellerrand.
Careful, the soup is about to spill over the plate rim.
The figurative meaning exists almost only in the fixed expression 'über den Tellerrand schauen' or 'über den Tellerrand blicken' (to look beyond the plate rim). It means to be open to new things and to broaden one's own horizons.
Wer eine neue Sprache lernt, blickt automatisch über den eigenen Tellerrand.
Anyone who learns a new language automatically broadens their own horizons.
The verbs 'schauen' (to look) or 'blicken' (to look/gaze) almost always point to the figurative, idiomatic meaning. In contexts involving food or dishes, the literal meaning is meant.
Durch Reisen lernt man, über den Tellerrand zu schauen.
Through travel, you learn to broaden your horizons.
border / limit
'die Grenze' and 'der Tellerrand' can both have to do with a limited area. 'Grenze' is the normal word for a limit or a dividing line, also in a figurative sense. In this context, 'Tellerrand' is used almost only in the fixed expression 'über den Tellerrand schauen' (to broaden your horizons / look beyond your own little world). It means that you do not stay only within your own small area, but are open to new ideas or other experiences. So 'Grenze' describes the limit itself more directly. 'Tellerrand' figuratively emphasizes leaving this narrow way of thinking behind.
Im Austauschprojekt schauen die Schüler über den Tellerrand und lernen andere Kulturen kennen.
In the exchange project, the students broaden their horizons and get to know other cultures.
Bei drei Stunden Lernen am Stück komme ich an meine Grenze.
When I study for three hours at a time, I reach my limit.