ngaan5 hon3眼看
Jyutpingngaan5 hon3
Yalengáahn hon
Definition
To watch with one's eyes; to look at.
colloquialdaily actions
How it's used
Focuses on the act of witnessing something happen directly, often implying a sense of helplessness or passivity. It is frequently used when someone observes a negative event unfolding without intervening, emphasizing the contrast between seeing and acting.
Examples
Are you just going to watch and not help?
Related words
Common phrases
look but do not touch
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the idiom 眼看手勿動, which is a fixed phrase for 'look but don't touch'. In everyday speech, using it as a simple verb for 'to watch' can sound slightly dramatic or literary, as if you are describing a scene rather than just looking at something.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
