源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

迫在眉睫

/pʰu̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡saɪ̯⁵¹ meɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛ³⁵/
imminent; extremely urgent
    Post Share

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow
    Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
    Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

    點擊節點放大 · Click a node to zoom in

    The phrase describes a situation as urgent as a drop of water about to fall onto one's eyelashes.
    The phrase describes a situation as urgent as a drop of water about to fall onto one's eyelashes.

    Origin

    The phrase 迫在眉睫 is composed of four characters. The character 迫 means to coerce, to force, or to compel; it is formed with the semantic component 辵 (to walk for a while and be still for a while), which contains 彳 (to walk slowly) and 止 (foot), and the phonetic component 白 (white). The character 在 means to exist, to be present, or to be alive, using the phonetic components 才 (ability; gift; talent; capability) and 士 (unmarried male; bachelor).

    Remaining components refer to the eye area. 眉 means eyebrow and contains the components 𠃜 and 目 (eye). 睫 means eyelash, featuring the semantic component 目 (eye) and the phonetic component 疌 (a surname). The character 疌 is itself formed from the phonetic component 屮 (new birth of plant) and the semantic components 又 (again; once more) and 止 (foot).

    Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

    Lineage

    • characterChinese迫 “to coerce; to force; to compel”
      • meaningChinese辵 “to walk for a while and be still for a while”
        • ideaChinese彳 “to walk slowly”
        • ideaChinese止 “foot”
      • soundChinese白 “white”
    • characterChinese在 “to exist; to be present; to be alive”
      • soundChinese才 “ability; gift; talent; capability”
      • soundChinese士 “unmarried male; bachelor”
    • characterChinese眉 “eyebrow (Classifier: 條／条 c; 堂 c)”
      • componentChinese𠃜
      • componentChinese目 “eye (Classifier: 雙／双 mn-t)”
    • characterChinese睫 “eyelash”
      • soundChinese疌 “a surname”
        • soundChinese屮 “new birth of plant”
        • meaningChinese又 “again; once more”
    Wiktionary etymology text

    No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

    Meanings

    phrase
    1. imminent; extremely urgent

    國語辭典 definitions

    1. 形容事情急迫。 例：這事已迫在眉睫，你怎麼還不趕快進行？

    © Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

    Sources

    • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
    • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
    • Written form — n/a
    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0