干瞪眼 (gān dèng yǎn) — to stand by helplessly, unable to do anything; to look on in despair

Definition

A vivid colloquial verb meaning 'to stand by helplessly, able only to stare' — emphasizes being unable to act, not just watching.

verb
to stand by helplesslyunable to do anythingto look on in despair

Examples

  • ，干瞪眼，。
    Kàn dào jī huì liū zǒu, tā zhǐ néng gān dèng yǎn, yì diǎn bàn fǎ yě méi yǒu.
    Seeing the opportunity slip away, he could only stand by helplessly with no way to act.
  • ，干瞪眼，。
    Bǐ sài shū le, jiào liàn zài chǎng biān gān dèng yǎn, háo wú bàn fǎ.
    The match was lost, and the coach stood by the sidelines in despair, completely helpless.
  • ，干瞪眼，。
    Gōng sī pò chǎn shí, yuán gōng men zhǐ néng gān dèng yǎn, méi yǒu rén néng gǎi biàn jié jú.
    When the company went bankrupt, the employees could only watch helplessly, with no one able to change the outcome.

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.

干gānin vain
瞪眼stare wide-eyed
瞪dèngstare眼yǎneye
动宾Verb + object

干 (in vain) + 瞪眼 (stare wide-eyed): one can only stare, unable to help.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
登
登dēng瞪dèng
Same sound today

瞪 pairs 目, an eye, with 登, which gives the sound.

Open 瞪 →

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
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn眼yǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

Open 眼 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.