平视 (píng shì) — to look straight ahead

Definition

平视 (píng shì) means to look straight ahead at eye level — a neutral, level gaze rather than looking up or down. In writing it often also means treating someone as an equal, contrasted with 仰视 (looking up to) and 俯视 (looking down on).

verb
to look straight ahead

Examples

  • ，平视，。
    Tā zhàn zài shān dǐng, píng shì yuǎn fāng, xīn zhōng chōng mǎn le xī wàng.
    He stood on the mountaintop, looking straight ahead into the distance, his heart full of hope.
  • ，平视，。
    Zài miàn shì shí, nǐ yīng gāi píng shì miàn shì guān de yǎn jing, xiǎn de zì xìn.
    During the interview, you should look directly into the interviewer's eyes, appearing confident.
  • 平视，。
    Tā píng shì qián fāng, méi yǒu zhù yì dào páng biān de péng you zài jiào tā.
    He was looking straight ahead and didn't notice his friend beside him calling him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

平pínglevel; straight
视shìlook

平 gives level or straight, and 视 means to look, so look straight ahead.

Characters in this word

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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 視; 视 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
示
示shì視shì
Same sound today

The story is about the traditional form 視: it combines 見, meaning see, with 示, which gives the sound shì.

Open 视 →

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