睁眼瞎 (zhēng yǎn xiā) — (figurative) illiterate person; (figurative, derogatory) someone who is unaware or oblivious to obvious things

Definition

A colloquial, derogatory compound: literally 'a blind person with eyes wide open'. It mocks someone who is illiterate OR, more commonly, who fails to notice what is right in front of them despite having working eyes.

noun
(figurative) illiterate person(figurative, derogatory) someone who is unaware or oblivious to obvious things
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，睁眼瞎，。
    Tā suī rán shàng le jǐ nián xué, dàn hái shì gè zhēng yǎn xiā, lián bào zhǐ dōu kàn bù dǒng.
    Although he went to school for a few years, he's still illiterate — he can't even read a newspaper.
  • ？睁眼瞎！
    Zhè me dà de tí shì pái nǐ kàn bú jiàn? nǐ zhēn shì zhēng yǎn xiā a!
    You can't see such a big sign? You're really oblivious!
  • 睁眼瞎，。
    Guò qù nóng cūn lǐ hěn duō lǎo rén dōu shì zhēng yǎn xiā, yí gè zì yě bú rèn shi.
    In the past, many elderly people in the countryside were illiterate — they couldn't recognize a single character.

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.

睁眼open eyes
睁zhēngopen眼yǎneye
动宾Verb + object
瞎xiāblind

睁眼 means eyes open, 瞎 means blind, together describing someone who cannot read or notice obvious things.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 睁 →

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 瞎 →

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