视而不见 shì ér bù jiàn to see but not to see

Explanation

指不注意，不重视，睁着眼却没看见。也指不理睬，看见了当作没看见。

It means not paying attention, not taking it seriously, seeing with your eyes but not seeing it. It also means ignoring, seeing it but pretending not to see it.

Origin Story

在一个繁华的街市上，一位衣衫褴褛的乞丐，手持一个破碗，向来往的行人乞讨。他那瘦弱的身躯，布满皱纹的脸上，写满了生活的艰辛。路过的人，或匆匆走过，或侧目而视，但大多都是视而不见。一个富商，衣着光鲜，从乞丐面前经过，他停下脚步，仔细地观察着乞丐，却始终没有掏出任何东西。乞丐以为富商要施舍，便殷切地望着他，可富商只是微微一笑，然后便转身离开了。乞丐失望极了，他不知道自己错在哪里，为什么富商会视而不见呢？ 富商之所以视而不见，是因为他内心充满了贪婪，他只关心自己的利益，对于那些需要帮助的人，他漠不关心。他宁愿将自己的钱财用来挥霍，也不愿将它分给那些需要帮助的人。 “视而不见”告诉我们，在生活中，我们要学会关注周围的人和事，要学会帮助那些需要帮助的人。不要像富商一样，只顾着自己的利益，而对别人的苦难视而不见。

zai yi ge fan hua de jie shi shang, yi wei yi shan lan lu de qi gai, shou chi yi ge po wan, xiang lai wang de xing ren qi tao. ta na shou ruo de shen qu, bu man zhou wen de lian shang, xie man le sheng huo de jian xin. lu guo de ren, huo cong cong zou guo, huo ce mu er shi, dan da duo du shi shi er bu jian. yi ge fu shang, yi zhuo guang xian, cong qi gai mian qian jing guo, ta ting xia bu zou, zi xi di guan cha zhe qi gai, que zong shi mei you tao chu ren he dong xi. qi gai yi wei fu shang yao shi she, bian yin qie di wang zhe ta, ke fu shang zhi shi wei wei yi xiao, ran hou bian zhuan shen li kai le. qi gai shi wang ji le, ta bu zhi dao zi ji cuo zai na li, wei shi me fu shang hui shi er bu jian ne? fu shang zhi suo yi shi er bu jian, shi yin wei ta nei xin chong man le tan lan, ta zhi guan xin zi ji de li yi, dui yu na xie xu yao bang zhu de ren, ta mo bu guan xin. ta ning yuan jiang zi ji de qian cai yong lai hui huo, ye bu yuan jiang ta fen gei na xie xu yao bang zhu de ren. “shi er bu jian” gao su wo men, zai sheng huo zhong, wo men yao xue hui guan zhu zhou wei de ren he shi, yao xue hui bang zhu na xie xu yao bang zhu de ren. bu yao xiang fu shang yi yang, zhi gu zi ji de li yi, er dui bie ren de ku nan shi er bu jian.

On a bustling market street, a beggar, dressed in rags, holding a broken bowl, begged the passersby. His thin body, his wrinkled face, was filled with the hardships of life. People passing by, either hurried past or glanced sideways, but most pretended not to see him. A wealthy merchant, dressed in finery, passed by the beggar. He stopped and looked carefully at the beggar, but he never took out anything. The beggar thought that the merchant was going to give alms and looked at him eagerly, but the merchant just smiled slightly and then turned and left. The beggar was extremely disappointed. He didn't know what he did wrong, why did the merchant ignore him? The merchant ignored him because his heart was filled with greed. He only cared about his own interests and was indifferent to those in need. He would rather squander his wealth than share it with those in need. "To see but not to see" tells us that in life, we must learn to pay attention to the people and things around us, and we must learn to help those in need. Don't be like the merchant, who only cares about his own interests and ignores the suffering of others.

Usage

这个成语用于讽刺那些明明看见了事情，却装作没看见，不愿理会或不愿承担责任的人。

zhe ge cheng yu yong yu feng ci na xie ming ming kan jian le shi qing, que zhuang zuo mei kan jian, bu yuan li hui huo bu yuan cheng dan ze ren de ren.

This idiom is used to satirize those who clearly see something, but pretend not to see it, and are unwilling to deal with it or take responsibility.

Examples

• 他明明看见了，却假装视而不见。

  ta ming ming kan jian le, que jiazhuang shi er bu jian.

  He saw it clearly, but pretended not to.

• 对于别人的批评，他总是视而不见，充耳不闻。

  dui yu bie ren de pi ping, ta zong shi shi er bu jian, chong er bu wen

  He ignored the criticism of others and pretended not to hear it.

Related Idioms

• 视若无睹

• 听而不闻

Opposite Idioms

• 过目不忘