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刺眼 (cì yǎn) — dazzling, blinding (of light); garish, loud, offensive to the eye (of color or appearance)

Definition

刺眼 describes light or color that physically hurts or offends the eyes — 'glaring' or 'garish'. Unlike 耀眼, which is purely a bright dazzle, 刺眼 has a negative, uncomfortable edge.

adjective
dazzlingblinding (of light)garishloudoffensive to the eye (of color or appearance)

Examples

  • 刺眼，。
    Yè wǎn de chē dēng tài cì yǎn le, ràng rén zhēng bù kāi yǎn.
    The car headlights at night are too dazzling — they make it hard to keep your eyes open.
  • 刺眼，。
    Tā chuān de nà tiáo liàng huáng sè qún zi fēi cháng cì yǎn, yì yǎn jiù néng kàn dào.
    The bright yellow skirt she's wearing is really garish — you can spot it at a glance.
  • 刺眼，。
    Zhè liǎng gè yán sè fàng zài yì qǐ tài cì yǎn le, kàn zhe bù shū fu.
    These two colors together are too loud — they don't look comfortable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

刺cìprick
眼yǎneye

刺 and 眼 combine as prick the eye, giving dazzling or garish.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì刺cì
Same sound today

刺 pairs 刂 (knife) with 朿, which gives the sound; the knife part fits actions like stabbing or pricking.

Open 刺 →

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
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn眼yǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

Open 眼 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Senses

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.