司空见惯

• Pinyin: sī kōng jiàn guàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 司 = to manage, oversee; 空 = 穴 (cave) + 工 (work) — empty, void; 见 = 目 (eye) + 儿 (legs) — to see; 惯 = 忄(heart) + 贯 (to string through) — accustomed to

Meaning

Commonplace; nothing out of the ordinary; so familiar that it no longer seems remarkable. Describes something seen so often it no longer attracts notice.

A four-character idiom originating from a Tang Dynasty anecdote in which a high official (司空) grew so accustomed to lavish banquets that he was no longer impressed. Now used broadly to comment on social phenomena or trends that have become tediously familiar through overexposure.

Examples

1. 在这座国际大都市里，各国语言交织的声音已是司空见惯的日常景象。 In this international metropolis, the mix of languages from around the world has become an everyday scene that no one finds unusual anymore.
2. 网络上的标题党现象如今已司空见惯，读者早已学会了理性筛选信息。 Clickbait headlines online are now so common that readers have long learned to filter information more rationally.
3. 对于长期在急诊室工作的医护人员来说，高强度的工作压力早已司空见惯。 For medical staff who have worked in the emergency room for years, intense work pressure has long been nothing out of the ordinary.

Usage Guide

Context: social commentary, observation, writing

Tone: observational

Do Say

• 随着短视频平台的普及，用碎片化内容代替深度阅读已成为当代年轻人司空见惯的生活方式。(With the proliferation of short-video platforms, replacing deep reading with fragmented content has become a commonplace way of life for young people today.)
• 在金融监管趋严的背景下，过去那些司空见惯的灰色操作如今都面临着被严查的风险。(Against the backdrop of tightening financial regulation, the grey-area practices that were once taken for granted now face the risk of rigorous scrutiny.)

Don't Say

• 避免将 司空见惯 用于描述真正稀奇罕见的事物 — 该成语专指某事因过于常见而不再引人注意，与 罕见 和 稀奇 语义相反

Origin & History

司空 = a high-ranking official in ancient China who oversaw construction and witnessed many things; 见惯 = accustomed to seeing — originated from a Tang anecdote about a blasé official

Cultural Context

Era: 唐代

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal