静观 (jìng guān) — to observe calmly and without interfering; to t… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to watch calmly from the sidelines' without intervening or reacting — like a detached observer. Often paired with 其变 (静观其变) to mean 'sit back and watch how things unfold'.

verb

to observe calmly and without interferingto take a detached view

Examples

，静观。
Jú shì hái bù míng lǎng, wǒ men zuì hǎo xiān jìng guān qí biàn.
The situation is still unclear; we'd better calmly watch how things change.
，静观。
Tā zhàn zài yì páng, jìng guān zhe shì tài de fā zhǎn.
He stood aside, calmly observing the development of events.
，静观。
Miàn duì biàn huà, tā xuǎn zé jìng guān bù yǔ.
Faced with change, she chose to observe quietly and say nothing.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

观guānobserve

静, quiet, and 观, observe, combine to mean watching calmly.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 靜; 静 is its simplified writing.

青爭靜

青青qīng
爭爭zhēng

The traditional form 靜, not the simplified 静, uses 青 and 爭 for sound; an old source also treats 青 (blue) as a meaning part.

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 觀; 观 is its simplified writing.

雚見觀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

見見jiànsee

Sound part声符shēngfú

雚

雚guàn觀guān

Same sound today

The traditional form 觀 uses 見 (see) for meaning and 雚 for sound.

Appears in

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