TongTong
Sign in

袖手旁观 (xiù shǒu páng guān) — to stand idly by; to look on with folded arms and do nothing (idiom, often disapproving)

Definition

A disapproving idiom meaning to stand by and do nothing while others struggle. Picture literally tucking your hands in your sleeves and watching — you could help, but you choose not to.

phrase
to stand idly byto look on with folded arms and do nothing (idiom, often disapproving)

Examples

  • ，袖手旁观。
    Miàn duì péng you yù dào kùn nan, wǒ men bù néng xiù shǒu páng guān.
    When friends face difficulties, we can't just stand by and do nothing.
  • 袖手旁观，。
    Tā zhàn zài yì páng xiù shǒu páng guān, shén me yě bú zuò.
    He stood on the sidelines with folded arms and did nothing at all.
  • 袖手旁观，。
    Rú guǒ wǒ men dōu xiù shǒu páng guān, zhè ge wèn tí jiù yǒng yuǎn jiě jué bù liǎo.
    If we all just look on without lifting a finger, this problem will never be solved.

Origin

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
衣衣yīclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
由
由yóu袖
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

袖 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 由, which provides the sound.

Open 袖 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →

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
同同tóng
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng旁páng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 旁, 方 is the lower part and gives the sound. The upper part is unclear and may have been part of the meaning.

Open 旁 →

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 觀; 观 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn觀guān
Same sound today

The traditional form 觀 uses 見 (see) for meaning and 雚 for sound.

Open 观 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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