眼看 (yǎn kàn) — (adverb) soon; in a moment; (verb) to look on helplessly; to watch (something happen) without being able to act
Definition
眼看 has two uses: as an adverb it means 'about to / soon' (like the more formal 即将), often with 就要; as a verb it means 'to watch helplessly' as something bad unfolds.
adverb
soonin a moment
verb
to look on helplesslyto watch (something happen) without being able to act
Examples
- 眼看，。yǎn kàn Jiù yào xià yǔ le, wǒ men kuài zǒu ba.It's about to rain soon; let's go quickly.
- 眼看，。Tā zhǐ néng yǎn kàn zì jǐ zhǒng de huā bèi yǔ dǎ huài, què háo wú bàn fǎ.He could only watch helplessly as his own flowers were ruined by the rain, with no way to stop it.
- 眼看，。yǎn kàn Huǒ chē jiù yào kāi le, tā hái zài lù shang dǔ zhe.The train is about to depart soon, but she's still stuck in traffic.
Appears in
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