仰视 (yǎng shì) — to look up at (something or someone from below)

Definition

Literally 'look up' — combine 仰 (face upward) with 视 (gaze/see), so the direction is built into the word. Often used figuratively to mean 'look up to' (a person) with respect or admiration.

verb
to look up at (something or someone from below)

Examples

  • ，仰视。
    Tā tài gāo le, wǒ dé tái zhe tóu yǎng shì tā.
    He's so tall that I have to tilt my head back to look up at him.
  • ，仰视。
    Zhàn zài shān jiǎo xià, wǒ men yǎng shì nà gāo sǒng de shān fēng.
    Standing at the foot of the mountain, we looked up at the towering peak.
  • 仰视，。
    Hái zi yǎng shì yè kōng zhōng de xīng xing, jué de hěn shén qí.
    The child looked up at the stars in the night sky and found them magical.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

仰yǎnglook up
视shìlook

仰 adds an upward direction to 视, giving the sense of looking up at something.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
卬
卬áng仰yǎng
Same sound today

In 仰, the left part 亻 represents a person, and the right part 卬 gives the sound.

Open 仰 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 視; 视 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
示
示shì視shì
Same sound today

The story is about the traditional form 視: it combines 見, meaning see, with 示, which gives the sound shì.

Open 视 →

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