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目击 (mù jī) — to witness (with one's own eyes)

Definition

目击 means to witness an event in person, as a direct eyewitness. Collocates with 证人 ('eyewitness') and is more formal than everyday 看见, which is just 'to see'.

verb
to witness (with one's own eyes)

Examples

  • 目击。
    Tā mù jī le nà qǐ jiāo tōng shì gù de jīng guò.
    He witnessed the course of the traffic accident.
  • 目击。
    Jǐng fāng zhèng zài xún zhǎo mù jī zhèng rén.
    The police are looking for eyewitnesses.
  • 目击。
    Jì zhě mù jī le kàng yì huó dòng de quán guò chéng.
    The journalist witnessed the entire protest.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.

Open 目 →

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 擊; 击 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
毄
毄jī擊jī
Same sound today

The traditional form 擊 has 手 (hand) and 毄; 毄 gives the sound and also points to striking, while the simplified 击 is a later shorthand.

Open 击 →
Appears in
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