CHENGYU
明察秋毫(míng chá qiū háo)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- formal, approving
- Source:
- 《孟子·梁惠王上》
MEANING
- Literal
- to see clearly the autumn down
- Figurative meaning
- to see the finest details; keen insight
ORIGIN STORY
Mencius asked a king: "Your sight is sharp enough to see the tip of an autumn hair, yet you fail to see a cartload of firewood. Is that credible?" The phrase now praises vision that misses nothing.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to have eyes like a hawk”
EXAMPLES
侦探明察秋毫，发现了现场的蛛丝马迹。Zhēntàn míng chá qiū háo, fāxiàn le xiànchǎng de zhū sī mǎ jì.HSK6
The detective sees the finest hairs and found the smallest clues at the scene.
老师明察秋毫，谁做小动作都逃不过她的眼睛。Lǎoshī míng chá qiū háo, shéi zuò xiǎo dòngzuò dōu táo bù guò tā de yǎnjing.HSK6
The teacher misses nothing — no fidgeting escapes her eyes.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It praises perception of fine detail, not just good eyesight.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Tap a character to explore it
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01