Definition
开眼 is a separable verb (离合词) meaning to broaden one's horizons or to see something impressive for the first time. It often carries a tone of admiration or surprise — like when you encounter something that 'opens your eyes'. The verb 开 and the noun 眼 can be split when inserting a measure word (e.g. 开一次眼 'get an eye-opening experience once') or with the complement 了 (e.g. 开了眼 'had an eye-opening experience'). The most common usage is as an indivisible unit in phrases like 大开眼界 (greatly broaden one's horizons), but 开眼 alone is also productive.
v.o.
to broaden one's mindto have one's eyes openedto see something remarkable for the first time
Examples
- 开眼，。Zhè cì lǚxíng ràng wǒ dà kāi yǎn, xué dào le hěn duō dōngxi.This trip really opened my eyes and taught me a lot.
- ！Kàn nà ge biǎoyǎn zhēnshi kāi le yǎn le!Watching that performance was truly an eye-opener!
- ，开眼。Tā dì yī cì kàn dào dà hǎi, zhí hū kāi yǎn.The first time he saw the ocean, he exclaimed how eye-opening it was.
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