理睬 (lǐ cǎi) — to heed, to pay attention to (typically in nega… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

理睬 (lǐ cǎi) means to pay attention to or acknowledge someone — almost always used in negative or rhetorical questions (e.g. 不理睬 'ignore'). Unlike 留意 and 留心, which mean actively watching for something, 理睬 is about responding to a person.

verb

to heedto pay attention to (typically in negative or interrogative constructions)

Examples

理睬。
Tā duì bié rén de yì jiàn cóng bù lǐ cǎi.
He never pays attention to other people's opinions.
，理睬。
Tā zhàn zài mén kǒu, méi yǒu rén lǐ cǎi tā.
She stood at the door, and no one paid her any attention.
理睬？
Shuí lǐ cǎi tā de bào yuàn?
Who cares about his complaints?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

理lǐattend to

Both 理 and 睬 mean paying attention, so together they stress noticing and responding.

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

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

里

里lǐ理lǐ

Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

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

目采睬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

采

Same sound today

The left part 目 shows an eye, while the right part 采 gives the sound cǎi.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Thinking & Cognition

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