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众目睽睽 (zhòng mù kuí kuí) — (fixed expression) in the glare of the public eye; under the watchful eyes of everyone

Definition

A chengyu meaning everyone is watching closely, so the action is under public scrutiny. Most often used in 在∼之下 / 在∼之下 to mean 'in full view of everyone,' giving a sense of public exposure or pressure.

idiom
(fixed expression) in the glare of the public eyeunder the watchful eyes of everyone

Examples

  • 众目睽睽，。
    Zài zhòng mù kuí kuí zhī xià, tā zhǐ hǎo chéng rèn le zì jǐ de cuò wù.
    Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he had no choice but to admit his mistake.
  • 众目睽睽。
    Zhè zhǒng jiāo yì bù néng zài zhòng mù kuí kuí xià jìn xíng.
    This kind of transaction cannot be conducted in full view of the public.
  • 众目睽睽，。
    Xiǎo tōu jìng gǎn zài zhòng mù kuí kuí zhī xià tōu dōng xi, zhēn shì dǎn dà bāo tiān.
    The thief dared to steal in full view of everyone — truly audacious.

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.

众目many eyes
众zhòngmany目mùeye
偏正Modifier + head
睽睽glaring
睽kuí睽kuí
重叠Reduplication

众目 (“many eyes”) and 睽睽 (“glaring”) together mean under the watchful gaze of many people.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Open 众 →

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 →

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
䀠䀠䀠two eyes
Sound part声符shēngfú
癸
癸guǐ睽
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

睽 puts 䀠, two eyes, beside 癸, which gives its sound. The two-eyes part later became the ordinary eye component.

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
䀠䀠䀠two eyes
Sound part声符shēngfú
癸
癸guǐ睽
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

睽 puts 䀠, two eyes, beside 癸, which gives its sound. The two-eyes part later became the ordinary eye component.

Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSociety & Public Life

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