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见仁见智 (jiàn rén jiàn zhì) — opinions differ; different people have different views (idiom)

Definition

Idiom: opinions differ — what one person sees as wise, another may not. States that no view is universal; different people judge differently. Distinct from 因人而异 (things vary by person, not just opinions) and 各抒己见 (each voices their own view).

phrase
opinions differdifferent people have different views (idiom)

Examples

  • ，见仁见智，。
    Duì yú zhè bù diàn yǐng de píng jià, zhēn shì jiàn rén jiàn zhì, yǒu rén xǐ huan yǒu rén bù xǐ huan.
    Opinions on this movie really differ — some people like it, some don't.
  • ，见仁见智，。
    Zhè ge shè jì fāng àn dào dǐ hǎo bu hǎo, jiàn rén jiàn zhì, hěn nán shuō shuí duì shuí cuò.
    Whether this design proposal is good or not — opinions differ; it's hard to say who is right or wrong.
  • ，见仁见智，。
    Guān yú jiào yù fāng shì, jiàn rén jiàn zhì, méi yǒu jué duì de biāo zhǔn.
    When it comes to educational methods, opinions differ; there's no absolute standard.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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
二二èr
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén仁rén
Same sound today

仁 is built from 人 and 二; 人 gives the sound, and 二 gives the meaning.

Open 仁 →

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 →

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

The early form 智 used 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to pass knowledge to a child.

Open 智 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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