只见 (zhǐ jiàn) — only see; just see (emphasizing that nothing else is visible); to one's surprise, see; unexpectedly see (introducing a new scene)

Definition

A narrative or literary marker: 'only to see' or 'suddenly one sees', used to introduce a new scene the speaker has just noticed. Closer to written Chinese than everyday speech.

verb
only seejust see (emphasizing that nothing else is visible)to one's surpriseseeunexpectedly see (introducing a new scene)

Examples

  • ，只见。
    Tā tuī kāi mén, zhǐ jiàn wū lǐ zuò zhe yí gè rén.
    He pushed open the door and saw a person sitting in the room.
  • ，只见。
    Wǒ wǎng chuāng wài yí kàn, zhǐ jiàn wài miàn xià qǐ le dà xuě.
    I looked out the window and saw that it had started snowing heavily.
  • ，只见。
    Tā huí tóu yí kàn, zhǐ jiàn tā zhèng zhàn zài shēn hòu.
    She turned around and saw him standing right behind her.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

只 shows air coming out of a mouth, for a word used in speech.

Open 只 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

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