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眼前一亮

Mandarin · pinyin yǎn qián yī liàng

(one's) eyes light up; to be impressed by what one sees

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Characters in this entry

眼: yǎn · eye; eyelet, hole, opening
前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
一: yī · one; a, an; alone
亮: liàng · bright, brilliant, radiant, light

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2–1–4 · yan3 qian2 yi1 liang4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngaan5 cin4 jat1 loeng6

Cantonese word readings for 眼前一亮. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to be impressed by what one sees

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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