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见死不救 (jiàn sǐ bú jiù) — to see someone in mortal danger and not lift a finger to help; to be callously indifferent

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to watch someone die and refuse to help' — a strong moral judgment of cold-heartedness, not just inaction. Used in writing and serious speech to condemn indifference, e.g. of doctors or bystanders.

idiom
to see someone in mortal danger and not lift a finger to helpto be callously indifferent

Examples

  • ，见死不救，。
    Kàn dào yǒu rén luò shuǐ, tā jū rán jiàn sǐ bú jiù, zhēn ràng rén xīn hán.
    Seeing someone fall into the water, he just watched without helping — it really chills the heart.
  • 见死不救，。
    Yī shēng bù néng jiàn sǐ bú jiù, zhè shì zhí yè dào dé.
    Doctors cannot stand by while someone dies; it's professional ethics.
  • 见死不救，。
    Nà ge sī jī zhuàng le rén què jiàn sǐ bú jiù, zuì hòu bèi jǐng chá zhuā zhù le.
    That driver hit someone and drove off without helping, and was eventually caught by the police.

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
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú救jiù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

Open 救 →
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