举目 (jǔ mù) — to raise one's eyes (to look); to look up (formal/literary)

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to raise one's eyes and look', almost always paired with a directional phrase (e.g. 举目远眺, 举目四望). Not used in everyday speech.

verb
to raise one's eyes (to look)to look up (formal/literary)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā jǔ le yí cì mù, kàn jiàn le yuǎn chù de qún shān.
    He raised his eyes once and saw the distant mountains.
  • 举目，。
    Tā zhàn zài shān dǐng jǔ mù yuǎn tiào, xīn kuàng shén yí.
    Standing on the mountaintop, he looked into the distance and felt relaxed and carefree.
  • ，，。
    Zài zhè ge mò shēng de chéng shì, tā jǔ mù wú qīn, gǎn dào shí fēn gū dú.
    In this unfamiliar city, he had no relatives to turn to and felt very lonely.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

举jǔraise
目mùeye

举 raise and 目 eye, so the word means to lift the eyes and look.

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 舉; 举 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
與
與yǔ舉jǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 舉 pairs 與, which gives the sound, with 手, a hand; the simplified 举 is a later shorthand.

Open 举 →

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 →

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