法眼

fǎyǎn
noun #31,682

Meanings

  1. 1 discerning eye
  2. 2 expert eye
  3. 3 Dharma-eye, eye that sees the truth

Examples

HSK 5
Qǐng nín guò guo fǎyǎn, kànkan zhè fú huà shìbushì zhēnpǐn.
Please give it your expert eye and tell me if this painting is genuine.
HSK 7-9
Mán bùguò tā de fǎyǎn.
Nothing gets past his discerning eye.

Tips

history
Originally a Buddhist term - one of the 五眼 (five eyes) in 大乘 Mahayana doctrine, the eye that sees through worldly illusion to dharmic truth. In modern usage it has secularized into 'connoisseur's eye' - typically used flatteringly when asking an expert to authenticate or evaluate something: 法眼 (please run your expert eye over it).
register
Polite-formal. Common in art / antiques / collecting circles. In casual contexts, 眼力 (judgment / eye for things) is more neutral.

Stroke Order

yǎn