袖手旁观

xiù shǒu páng guān

to look on with folded arms

Character by character

袖xiù
sleeved

手shǒu
hands

旁páng
at the side

观guān
watch

看到别人有困难，我们不能袖手旁观。

We can't just stand by when others are in trouble.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Traced to Han Yu's eulogy for Liu Zongyuan, with master craftsmen looking on, hands tucked in their sleeves.

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