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熟视无睹 (shú shì wú dǔ) — to turn a blind eye to something familiar; to ignore something as if it weren't there

Definition

A chengyu meaning to see something so often that it becomes invisible — i.e., to be blind to a familiar problem. Used to criticize willful indifference, not casual oversight.

idiom
to turn a blind eye to something familiarto ignore something as if it weren't there

Examples

  • 熟视无睹，。
    Tā duì yuán gōng de xīn kǔ láo lèi shú shì wú dǔ, cóng lái bù guān xīn.
    He turns a blind eye to the hard work and exhaustion of his employees, never caring about them.
  • 熟视无睹。
    Hěn duō rén duì huán jìng wū rǎn yǐ jīng shú shì wú dǔ le.
    Many people have already turned a blind eye to environmental pollution.
  • 熟视无睹。
    Wǒ men bù néng duì zhè zhǒng fǔ bài xiàn xiàng shú shì wú dǔ.
    We cannot turn a blind eye to this kind of corruption.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

熟 combines 孰 (cooked; ripe) with 灬 (fire), showing food cooked with fire.

Open 熟 →

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě睹dǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

睹 pairs 目 (eye), related to seeing, with 者 as a part hinting at the sound.

Open 睹 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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