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眼熟 (yǎn shú) — familiar-looking, looks familiar

Definition

A colloquial predicate meaning 'looks familiar' — you feel you've seen it (a face, place, or thing) before but can't quite place it. Often paired with 看起来 / 看着 and followed by a 'but I can't recall' clause, as in the examples.

adjective
familiar-lookinglooks familiar

Examples

  • 眼熟，。
    Nà ge rén kàn qǐ lái hěn yǎn shú, dàn shì wǒ bú jì de zài nǎ lǐ jiàn guò tā.
    That person looks familiar, but I don't remember where I've seen him.
  • 眼熟，。
    Zhè ge cān tīng kàn qǐ lái hěn yǎn shú, wǒ hǎo xiàng lái guò.
    This restaurant looks familiar; I feel like I've been here before.
  • 眼熟，。
    Tā de liǎn kàn zhe hěn yǎn shú, dàn wǒ bù zhī dào tā shì shuí.
    His face looks familiar, but I don't know who he is.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

眼yǎneye
熟shúfamiliar

“眼” (eye) and “熟” (familiar) combine to mean looking familiar.

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
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 →

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 →
Appears in
Senses

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