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大眼瞪小眼

dà yǎn dèng xiǎo yǎndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) to look at each other, not knowing what to do
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-3589f58b0a588a58. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

大眼瞪小眼 大眼瞪小眼 [da4 yan3 deng4 xiao3 yan3] /(idiom) to look at each other, not knowing what to do/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 大
    dà

    big / large / great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[dà jiě]) / greatly / freely / fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)

    dài

    see 大夫[dài fu]

  • 眼
    yǎn

    eye (CL:隻|只[zhī],雙|双[shuāng]) / (often used with 一[yī]) a look / a glance / small hole / (bound form) salient point / classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc

  • 瞪
    dèng

    to open (one's eyes) wide / to stare at / to glare at

  • 小
    xiǎo

    small / tiny / few / young

  • 眼
    yǎn

    eye (CL:隻|只[zhī],雙|双[shuāng]) / (often used with 一[yī]) a look / a glance / small hole / (bound form) salient point / classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.