| Change log entry 74501 | |
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| Processed by: | goldyn_chyld (2022-04-01 14:46:27 UTC) |
| Comment: |
<< review queue entry 70220 - submitted by 'richwarm' >> Woeful definition! 1. The literal translation is wrong, I believe, because 居 here means "be (in a certain position)" or "occupy (a place)" -- not "live" or "dwell". 2. "overlook" is a *transitive* verb that is invariably followed by its grammatical object: - "Our hotel room overlooked the harbour." - "Our balcony overlooks the river." 居高临下, on the other hand, is used *intransitively*: - 有居高臨下的絕佳視野， - 他居高临下地望着她，笑容有点邪恶，... - 没有丝毫居高临下的傲慢表情， - 居高臨下可遠眺金門南海灣， - 從關渡自然公園居高臨下的「自然中心」向外眺望， - 登上99級台階的高處，進入大殿前，可以居高臨下，感受一下當年... - 盛開的蘭花頂端，潔白無瑕的螳螂居高臨下，異彩紛陳卻不失和諧。 3. "tower above" is wrong. Towering means being very tall, whereas 居高临下 means being located in a high place. For example, the praying mantis in the final example above does not "tower above"; it is simply located at the top of a plant. 4. "occupy the high ground" Not really wrong, I guess, but it's only appropriate when there is a conflict. (One side occupies the high ground and therefore has an advantage.) There is no conflict in the examples I found. 5. "arrogance based on one's social position" It's not appropriate to define 居高临下 as a noun (arrogance). 居高临下 is a *verb* (see the 2nd and 3rd examples above). Also, it's presumably not about "one's social position" necessarily. I can imagine it could be about intellect, for example, rather than social status. --------------------------------- btw, "haughty" derives from a word that means "high". M-W @ haughty: "obsolete haught, from Middle English haute, from Anglo-French halt, haut, literally, high, from Latin altus". |
| Diff: |
- 居高臨下 居高临下 [ju1 gao1 lin2 xia4] /to live high and look down (idiom)/to overlook/to tower above/to occupy the high ground/fig. arrogance based on one's social position/ + 居高臨下 居高临下 [ju1 gao1 lin2 xia4] /lit. to be in a high location, overlooking the scene below (idiom)/fig. to occupy a commanding position/to assume a haughty attitude/ |