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眼线 (yǎn xiàn) — informer, scout; (colloquial) spy, enemy observer

Definition

A person secretly feeding information to one side — police, military, or a rival group. Note 眼线 here means 'informer/plant', not the cosmetic 'eyeliner'.

noun
informerscout(colloquial) spyenemy observer

Examples

  • 眼线，。
    Tā gěi jǐng chá dāng yǎn xiàn, tí gōng le hěn duō qíng bào.
    He worked as an informant for the police and provided a lot of intelligence.
  • 眼线。
    Jǐng fāng zài fàn zuì jí tuán nèi bù ān chā le yǎn xiàn.
    The police planted an informer inside the criminal organization.
  • 眼线。
    Tā shì yì míng dí hòu gōng zuò de yǎn xiàn.
    He is an informant working behind enemy lines.

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.

眼yǎneye
线xiànline

The informer sense uses 眼 to suggest watching and 线 to suggest a line of observation, so it names a person placed to watch for someone.

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
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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
泉
泉quán線xiàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

Open 线 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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