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迫在眉睫 (pò zài méi jié) — extremely urgent; imminent

Definition

A vivid chengyu meaning 'extremely urgent' — literally 'pressing on the eyebrows and eyelashes.' Used for crises, deadlines, or dangers that demand immediate action, stronger than everyday words like 急.

idiom
extremely urgentimminent

Examples

  • 迫在眉睫，。
    Zhàn zhēng pò zài méi jié, suǒ yǒu rén dōu zài zhǔn bèi chè lí.
    War is imminent; everyone is preparing to evacuate.
  • 迫在眉睫，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù de jié zhǐ rì qī pò zài méi jié, wǒ men bì xū jiā kuài sù dù.
    The project deadline is extremely urgent; we must speed up.
  • 迫在眉睫。
    pò zài méi jié De wèn tí shì rú hé jiě jué zī jīn duǎn quē.
    The problem that is most urgent is how to solve the funding shortage.

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái迫pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 迫 pairs the walking radical 辶 (written in full as 辵) with 白, which gives the sound.

Open 迫 →

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

The early form of 在 used 才 for its sound; a second sound part 士 was added later, and that 士 became the 土 seen in 在.

Open 在 →

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

眉 originally showed 𠃜, hair, above 目, an eye.

Open 眉 →

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
疌
疌jié睫jié
Same sound today

The left part 目 is an eye, showing the meaning, while the right part 疌 gives the sound.

Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSafety & Danger

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