📖 Meaning
To see with one's own eyes and hear with one's own ears. It describes firsthand experience or direct observation of events. Used when someone has personally witnessed something rather than relying on secondhand accounts.
📜 Origin Story
This phrase originates from the historical work Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government) by Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty, specifically from the annals of the Tang Dynasty during the second year of the Jingyun reign of Emperor Ruizong. The original text states that what one hears with the ears is not as reliable as what one sees with one's own eyes, and what one speaks is not as reliable as what one personally encounters. The idiom was later condensed and popularized to emphasize the reliability of firsthand observation over hearsay.
💡 Example Usage
他目击耳闻了整个事件的经过，可以出庭作证。
He witnessed the entire course of the event firsthand and can testify in court.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 目击耳闻
- Pinyin: mù jī ěr wén
- Literal Translation: eye, witness, ear, hear
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4