HSK 6 · Verbs

东张西望 dōngzhāngxīwàng “to look around in all directions” in Chinese

Traditional 東張西望

What 东张西望 means

  1. to look around in all directions
  2. to look in all directions (idiom)
  3. to glance around

How to say 东张西望

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale东dōng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale张zhāng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale西xī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale望wàng4th tone, falling

东张西望 in a sentence

  1. 他在车站东张西望，好像在找人。

    Tā zài chēzhàn dōngzhāngxīwàng, hǎoxiàng zài zhǎo rén.

    He was looking all around at the station as if searching for someone.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 上课的时候别东张西望。

    Shàngkè de shíhou bié dōngzhāngxīwàng.

    Don’t keep looking around in class.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 东张西望 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 东 (dōng) with each of its parts in a different colour
东dōngeast
  • 七seven · qī
  • 小small · xiǎo

Memory aidSimplified from 東, drawn from a sack tied at both ends. It was borrowed for “east”.

The character 张 (zhāng) with each of its parts in a different colour
张zhāngto open up
  • 弓bow · gōngMeaning part
  • 长long · chángSound part

弓 hints at the meaning (bow); 长 (cháng) hints at the sound. Compare it with zhāng.

The character 西 (xī) with each of its parts in a different colour
西xīwest
  • 兀weak · wù
  • 囗enclosure · wéi

Memory aidDrawn from a bird's nest. It was borrowed early on for “west”.

The character 望 (wàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
望wàngfull moon
  • 亡death · wáng
  • 月moon · yuè
  • 王king · wáng

Memory aidA person standing gazing at the moon 月 far away: to gaze, to hope.

How to write 东张西望

东 5 strokes · 张 7 strokes · 西 6 strokes · 望 11 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

东张西望 (dōngzhāngxīwàng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 东张西望 (dōngzhāngxīwàng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 东张西望

Words with 东

东西dōngxi · thing东dōng · East东方dōngfāng · the East东北dōngběi · northeast东南dōngnán · southeast房东fángdōng · landlord股东gǔdōng · shareholder东道主dōngdàozhǔ · host

Words with 张

张zhāng · mw for flat objects紧张jǐnzhāng · nervous主张zhǔzhāng · to advocate夸张kuāzhāng · to exaggerate慌张huāngzhāng · flustered扩张kuòzhāng · to expand

Words with 西

东西dōngxi · thing西瓜xīguā · watermelon西xī · West西方xīfāng · the West西南xīnán · southwest西北xīběi · northwest西红柿xīhóngshì · tomato

Words with 望

希望xīwàng · to hope失望shīwàng · disappointed盼望pànwàng · to hope for看望kànwàng · to visit愿望yuànwàng · desire探望tànwàng · to visit (esp. someone ill or elderly)绝望juéwàng · to despair渴望kěwàng · to long for期望qīwàng · to expect欲望yùwàng · desire

More words: Common Verbs

跌diē · to fall抵抗dǐkàng · to resist盯dīng · to stare at动手dòngshǒu · to start work端duān · to carry (level with both hands)断绝duànjué · to break off对付duìfu · to deal with堆积duījī · to pile up

FAQs

东张西望 (dōngzhāngxīwàng) means “to look around in all directions” or “to look in all directions (idiom)”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it dōngzhāngxīwàng: dōng with a 1st tone, then zhāng with a 1st tone, then xī with a 1st tone, then wàng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 东张西望 is written 東張西望. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dongzhangxiwang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 东张西望 from the suggestions. Typing dongzhangxiwang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
东张西望 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.