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眼见 (yǎn jiàn) — right away; soon; in a moment

Definition

眼见 is an adverb meaning 'imminently' — it signals the listener that an event the speaker is watching unfold is about to happen. Typically paired with 就要 + verb, emphasizing an expected near-future outcome.

adverb
right awaysoonin a moment

Examples

  • 眼见，。
    yǎn jiàn Tiān jiù yào hēi le, wǒ men gǎn jǐn zǒu ba.
    It's going to get dark soon; let's hurry up and leave.
  • 眼见，。
    Bǐ sài yǎn jiàn jiù yào kāi shǐ le, guān zhòng men dōu jǐn zhāng dì děng dài zhe.
    The game is about to start any moment now, and the audience is waiting nervously.
  • 眼见，。
    Tā yǎn jiàn jiù yào bì yè le, zhèng zài máng zhe zhǎo gōng zuò.
    He is about to graduate soon and is busy looking for a job.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

眼yǎneye
见jiànsee

眼 and 见 suggest something in view; 眼见 then marks something imminent, not literal seeing.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →
Appears in
Time (Abstract)

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