📖 Meaning
睨 means to glance sideways or look upward. The image is of someone whose eyes are fixed upward while delivering their views. It describes a person whose bearing and speech are of extraordinary grandeur and commanding spirit.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Biography of Zhang Heng in the Book of the Later Han (《后汉书·张衡传》), written in the Southern Dynasties period. Zhang Heng was a celebrated Eastern Han astronomer, mathematician, and inventor. The original line reads, '方将师天老而友地典，与之乎高睨而大谈' — he aspired to take the legendary sage 天老 as his teacher and 地典 as his companion, and with them gaze on high and discourse grandly. It conveys his lofty ambition to converse with sages on the highest matters, far beyond ordinary concerns.
💡 Example Usage
他在论坛上高睨大谈，纵论行业未来，令在场众人无不折服。
At the forum he held forth with lofty conviction on the future of the industry, winning the admiration of everyone present.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 高睨大谈
- Pinyin: gāo nì dà tán
- Literal Translation: high, look askance, great, discourse
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4