当刮目相看

當刮目相看
dāng guā mù xiāng kàn
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 one should look at (him) with new eyes
  2. 2 deserves a fresh, respectful appraisal after an impressive change

Examples

HSK 5
Shì bié sān rì, dāngguāmùxiāngkàn, zhè xiǎohuǒzi jìnbù zhēn kuài.
'After three days apart, you should look with new eyes' - this young man has progressed so fast.
HSK 5
Tā chuàngyè chénggōng, péngyǒumen dōu shuō dāngguāmùxiāngkàn le.
She succeeded in her startup, and friends say they now see her in a whole new light.

Tips

history
From 《三国志·吕蒙传》. General Lu Su, meeting Lü Meng after he had studied hard, exclaimed: 士别三日,即更刮目相待 - 'three days apart, and one must look at him with scraped-clean eyes (fresh eyes).' The idiom 刮目相看 derives from this.
usage
The full saying is 士别三日,当刮目相看. The bare idiom 刮目相看 is more common today; 当刮目相看 keeps the classical 'should/ought' flavor. 刮 = scrape/wipe - as if wiping the old image off your eyes.

Stroke Order

当 dāng
刮 guā
目 mù
相 xiāng
看 kàn