君不见 (jūn bú jiàn) — can't you see? (rhetorical question, literary/formal)

Definition

A literary rhetorical opener meaning "can't you see?" — used in classical-style writing (often poetry or essay) to introduce a striking observation, not as an actual question expecting an answer.

verb
can't you see? (rhetorical question, literary/formal)

Examples

  • 君不见，，。
    jūn bú jiàn, Suì yuè rú liú shuǐ, yí qù bú fù fǎn.
    Can't you see? Time flows like water, never to return.
  • 君不见，，。
    jūn bú jiàn, Duō shǎo yīng xióng háo jié, zuì zhōng dōu guī yú chén tǔ.
    Don't you see? So many heroes and great men all eventually return to dust.
  • 君不见，，。
    jūn bú jiàn, Zhēn zhèng de xìng fú bú zài yú cái fù, ér zài yú nèi xīn de píng jìng.
    Can't you see? True happiness lies not in wealth, but in inner peace.

Origin

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尹
尹yǐn君jūn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

君 combines 尹 and 口. Early forms were often interchangeable with 尹, and 口 may show commands or simply be decorative.

Open 君 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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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