着眼 (zhuó yǎn) — to focus on; to have one's eyes on (a goal); to… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

着眼 (zhuóyǎn) means 'to focus on / have one's eyes on (a goal)' — it emphasizes directing attention toward a chosen target. More goal-oriented than 集中 ('concentrate/centralize'); pair it with 着力, which stresses the effort you put in.

verb

to focus onto have one's eyes on (a goal)to concentrate

Examples

，着眼。
Zài zhì dìng wèi lái guī huà shí, tā men zhuó yǎn yú jì shù chuàng xīn.
When making future plans, they focus on technological innovation.
着眼。
Zhè ge wèn tí wǒ men zhuó yǎn shí jì kě xíng xìng.
For this issue, we focus on practical feasibility.
着眼。
Gōng sī xiàn zài zhuó yǎn hǎi wài shì chǎng kuò zhāng.
The company is currently focusing on overseas market expansion.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

着zheattach

The 着 sense 'attach' and 眼 'eye' combine: fix the eye on a goal.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

者zhě著zháo

Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

目艮眼

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Thinking & Cognition

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