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一望无际 (yī wàng wú jì) — stretching as far as the eye can see; boundless (view)

Definition

A chengyu describing a view so vast the eye cannot find its edge — 'boundless, stretching to the horizon.' Used as an attributive before nouns like 大海, 草原, 沙漠.

idiom
stretching as far as the eye can seeboundless (view)

Examples

  • ，一望无际。
    Zhàn zài shān dǐng shàng, kě yǐ kàn dào yī wàng wú jì de dà hǎi.
    Standing on the mountaintop, you can see the boundless sea.
  • 一望无际！
    Zhè piàn yī wàng wú jì de cǎo yuán zhēn měi a!
    This boundless grassland is so beautiful!
  • 一望无际。
    Qì chē xíng shǐ zài yī wàng wú jì de shā mò zhōng.
    The car drove through the boundless desert.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 臣臣chéneye
  • 𡈼𡈼𡈼person standing on the ground

望 originally showed 臣 (eye) beside 𡈼 (person standing on the ground): a person standing up and looking off into the distance. Later 月 was added, and the 臣 part became 亡.

Open 望 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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 際; 际 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
祭
祭jì際⁰jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 際 pairs 阝 with 祭: 阝 gives the meaning and 祭 gives the sound. The simplified 际 is a later shorthand.

Open 际 →
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