大饱眼福 (dà bǎo yǎn fū) — to feast one's eyes on something; to enjoy a visual spectacle

Definition

Idiom meaning 'to feast one's eyes' on a remarkable visual display — great art, scenery, or performance. Use when you've just witnessed something truly stunning.

idiom
to feast one's eyes on somethingto enjoy a visual spectacle

Examples

  • ，大饱眼福。
    Zài huà zhǎn shàng, wǒ zhēn shì dà bǎo yǎn fū.
    At the art exhibition, I really feasted my eyes.
  • 大饱眼福。
    Nà chǎng wǔ dǎo biǎo yǎn ràng wǒ dà bǎo yǎn fū.
    That dance performance made me feast my eyes.
  • ，。
    Cóng zhè lǐ kàn rì chū, zhēn ràng rén dà bǎo yǎn fū.
    Watching the sunrise from here truly makes one feast one's eyes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

大饱greatly satisfy
大dàgreatly饱bǎosatisfy
偏正Modifier + head
眼福eye fortune
眼yǎneye福fúfortune
偏正Modifier + head

大 “greatly” and 饱 “satisfy” join 眼 “eye” and 福 “fortune” to mean a visual feast.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 飽; 饱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shífood
Sound part声符shēngfú
包
包bāo飽bǎo
Same sound today

The traditional form 飽 uses 食 to mark food/eating and 包 for the sound.

Open 饱 →

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 →

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
示示shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
畐
畐fú福fú
Same sound today

福 combines 示 and 畐, with 示 carrying the meaning and 畐 the sound.

Open 福 →

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