另眼相看
lìng yǎn xiāng kàn
to look on someone differently, for better or worse
Character by character
另lìng
different
different
眼yǎn
eyes
eyes
相xiāng
upon
upon
看kàn
look
look
Example
他考上了名牌大学，以前看不起他的亲戚也对他另眼相看了。
Once he got into a top university, even the relatives who used to look down on him started to see him in a new light.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
相 is xiāng and points at the person looked at; it does not mean “each other”. Most often favourable (seen in a new, better light, like 刮目相看), but in talk about prejudice it means singling someone out: 不要对感染者另眼相看. The context decides which.
Learn this in Lesson 160 · HSK 7–9: 艾滋病：检测与偏见 (HIV: testing and prejudice)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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