旁若无人
páng ruò wú rén
acting as if no one else were there
Character by character
旁páng
beside
beside
若ruò
as if
as if
无wú
no
no
人rén
one
one
Example
他在地铁上旁若无人地大声打电话。
He talked loudly on the phone on the metro as if nobody else was there.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
Usually inconsiderate public behaviour; occasionally just total absorption.
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