TongTong
Sign in

注目 (zhù mù) — to stare at, to fix one's eyes on; (military) to salute with eyes (used in 注目礼)

Definition

A written/literary verb meaning 'to fix one's eyes on' or 'to attract attention.' It functions more as a fixed element in compounds like 引人注目 and 注目礼 than as an everyday verb.

verb
to stare atto fix one's eyes on(military) to salute with eyes (used in 注目礼)

Examples

  • ，注目。
    Tā zhàn zài mén kǒu, xiàng dà jiā zhù mù.
    He stood at the door, staring at everyone.
  • 。
    Zhè jiàn shì wǒ yǐ jīng zhù guò mù le.
    I have already looked over this matter.
  • 注目。
    Tā de xīn zuò pǐn shí fēn yǐn zhù mù.
    His new work is very eye-catching.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

注zhùfocus
目mùeye

注 means focus and 目 means eyes, giving the sense of fixing one's eyes.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
主
主zhǔ注zhù
Same sound today

注 combines 水, meaning water, with 主, which gives the sound.

Open 注 →

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

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.

Open 目 →
Appears in
Senses

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.