眼色

• 拼音: yǎn sè
• 汉字拆解: 眼 = 目 (eye) + 艮 (firm gaze); 色 = 刀 (knife/bend) + 巴 (body/kneeling figure — a figure whose face changes colour with emotion, suggesting expression or hue)

含义

Eye signal; a meaningful glance; hint conveyed through the eyes. A non-verbal cue or message communicated by one's gaze or facial expression.

Used in interpersonal and social contexts: 使眼色 (to signal with one's eyes; to give someone a meaningful look), 看眼色行事 (to act according to the cues one reads from others' expressions — being adept at reading a room), 不看眼色 (oblivious to social cues). A key social intelligence concept in Chinese interpersonal dynamics.

例句

1. 在关键时刻，他悄悄向搭档使了一个眼色，示意对方保持沉默，不要在谈判桌上轻易透露己方的底牌。
2. 在职场上，能够善于观察上司的眼色、准确把握其真实意图，是一种十分重要的工作智慧和生存技能。
3. 孩子在发现父母面色不对时，立刻停止了玩闹，乖乖地回到座位上，显然是读懂了那个无声的眼色。

用法指南

语境: interpersonal, workplace, social intelligence, everyday

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 他在职场中混得风生水起，很大程度上得益于他善于察言观色的能力，总能在最恰当的时机说出对方最想听的话。(He has thrived in the workplace to a large extent thanks to his ability to read people and pick up on subtle cues, always managing to say what others most want to hear at precisely the right moment.)
• 领导在会议中途给她使了个眼色，她立刻领会了其中的意思，话锋一转，将话题从敏感议题引回到议程主线上来。(During the meeting the leader gave her a meaningful look, and she immediately understood its import — she changed tack at once, steering the conversation away from the sensitive topic and back to the main agenda.)

错误说法

• 我没有眼色 — while this can be used self-deprecatingly to mean 'I'm not good at reading the room,' the more natural phrasing is 我不善于察言观色 or 我眼力见儿差; 没有眼色 sounds blunt and is more often said of others than of oneself

起源与历史

眼 (eye) + 色 (colour/expression — originally a kneeling figure, suggesting a facial expression or hue)

文化背景

时代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal