CYChengyu Dictionary

Chengyu meaning

目不暇接 (mù bù xiá jiē)

too much to take in visually

Plain Answer

Source: Traditional visual-abundance expression in Chinese usage. Treated here as classical story; read it first as a sentence-level judgment.

Core meaning: 目不暇接 means too much to take in visually: Used when there are so many things to see that the viewer cannot take them all in. It often describes scenery, exhibits, performances, displays, or fast-changing visual information.

Practice this meaningRead the story
Label
neutral / common formal
Best objects
museum exhibit, festival street, usage boundary
Do not use when
Do not use 目不暇接 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 闭月羞花 or the contrast points toward 一模一样, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

Use: Use 目不暇接 when the museum exhibit sentence shows the object, cause, and tone clearly. Avoid: Avoid 目不暇接 when the sentence only sounds related, lacks evidence, or needs a plainer word.

museum exhibit博物馆的新展品太多，观众看得目不暇接。Bówùguǎn de xīn zhǎnpǐn tài duō, guānzhòng kàn de mùbùxiájiē.There were so many new exhibits in the museum that visitors could hardly take them all in.

Next: Read the examples, then compare 闭月羞花 before practicing 目不暇接 in the focused quiz.

Often studied with: 闭月羞花, 沧海桑田, 风云突变

Read This First

目不暇接 is introduced here through a classical story tradition retold for modern learners; the source label is Traditional visual-abundance expression in Chinese usage, and the page separates that background from modern sentence choice.

目不暇接 means too much to take in visually. The important first reading is Used when there are so many things to see that the viewer cannot take them all in. It often describes scenery, exhibits, performances, displays, or fast-changing visual information. This is a neutral phrase in normal use, so the sentence must show the judgment clearly.

Use 目不暇接 when the object, cause, and tone match examples such as museum exhibit, festival street, usage boundary; then compare 闭月羞花 and 沧海桑田 before writing your own sentence.

Avoid 目不暇接 when the sentence only shares a broad topic, when the tone would be unfair to the person being described, or when a plainer word would be clearer than a chengyu.

Start with this cue: museum exhibit plus a visible reason.

Meaning and Translation Notes

Used when there are so many things to see that the viewer cannot take them all in. It often describes scenery, exhibits, performances, displays, or fast-changing visual information.

Literal meaning

the eyes have no leisure to receive everything

  • 目 / eyes
  • 不 / not
  • 暇 / spare time
  • 接 / receive

English equivalents

  • too much to take in plain

    Natural when the visual overload matters more than the exact image.

  • dazzling variety near

    Works when the tone is positive.

  • the eyes cannot keep up plain

    Keeps the learner close to the Chinese structure.

How To Use It

Use 目不暇接 when the reader can see why too much to take in visually is the exact judgment, not just the topic. A strong sentence names the actor, the thing being judged, and the evidence that makes this idiom more precise than an ordinary adjective.

  • Use it for visual scenes with many things appearing, changing, or competing for attention.
  • The tone can be positive, overwhelmed, or neutral depending on the scene.
  • It often fits travel, exhibitions, performances, markets, screens, and city scenes.

Common Mistakes

Do not use 目不暇接 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 闭月羞花 or the contrast points toward 一模一样, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

  • Do not use it for abstract mental busyness unless the visual input is clear.
  • Do not confuse it with 眼花缭乱, which more strongly suggests dazzled confusion.

Wrong Use Clinic

The most useful check is often the phrase you should reject.

  1. The learner wants to sound more idiomatic but has only a broad topic match for 目不暇接.

    The sentence drops in 目不暇接 without showing the cause, object, or tone that would make the idiom necessary.

    Fix: Rewrite the sentence so the evidence for too much to take in visually appears before or after the phrase.

    目不暇接 fails in this case because a chengyu is not decoration; it must name the exact judgment the sentence is making.

    Compare bi yue xiu hua

  2. The learner wants to say the opposite or a neighboring idea and chooses 目不暇接 because it feels familiar.

    The sentence uses 目不暇接, but the described situation points to a different cause, time point, or social attitude.

    Fix: Compare the sentence with 一模一样 and choose the phrase whose boundary explains the situation with less force.

    目不暇接 becomes misleading when the nearby phrase would identify the real problem more cleanly.

    Compare yi mu yi yang

  3. The learner has the right meaning area for 目不暇接 but ignores register and emotional force.

    The sentence uses 目不暇接 directly about a person, yet gives no softening context or evidence for such a impressed or overwhelmed judgment.

    Fix: Add the observed behavior first, or choose 沧海桑田 if the sentence needs a gentler learning path.

    目不暇接 can sound heavier than a short English gloss. The reader needs enough context to see why the tone is fair.

    Compare cang hai sang tian

  4. The learner remembers the origin image of 目不暇接 but applies it to the wrong object.

    The sentence names an image or story detail, but the real object being judged would be better explained by another chengyu.

    Fix: Name the object first. If the object points toward 马马虎虎, use that contrast instead.

    目不暇接 should follow the judgment, not the most memorable image. Story memory is useful only when it supports the sentence-level decision.

    Compare ma ma hu hu

Chengyu Often Studied Together

Use these clusters to build sentence-level judgment instead of memorizing a single gloss.

  1. 目不暇接 with nearby learner choices

    目不暇接 is often studied beside 闭月羞花 and 沧海桑田 because the words share a theme while asking the learner to judge a different cause, tone, or timing.

    老师先让学生解释目不暇接，再比较闭月羞花和沧海桑田，这样不会只凭英文近义词选答案。

    bi yue xiu huacang hai sang tian

  2. 目不暇接 with contrast checks

    目不暇接 becomes easier to use when it is contrasted with 风云突变 and 一模一样; the contrast forces the writer to decide whether the sentence is praise, warning, correction, or neutral description.

    写作练习里先用目不暇接造句，再换成风云突变，观察判断方向怎样改变。

    feng yun tu bianyi mu yi yangbi yue xiu hua

  3. 目不暇接 in example-building drills

    目不暇接 should be practiced with 闭月羞花 and 风云突变 because examples reveal whether the learner is choosing by meaning, tone, or only by a remembered image.

    课堂上先用目不暇接写一个有证据的句子，再换成闭月羞花或风云突变说明判断为什么改变。

    bi yue xiu huafeng yun tu biancang hai sang tian

  4. 目不暇接 in story and source review

    目不暇接 links best with 沧海桑田 and 一模一样 when the learner is checking whether a source image truly supports a modern sentence.

    复习出处时，不要只背目不暇接的故事，还要比较沧海桑田，看哪个成语更能解释现代句子。

    cang hai sang tianyi mu yi yangbi yue xiu hua

Learner Guide

Use these notes when deciding whether this chengyu fits a real sentence.

Use 目不暇接 when many visible things compete for attention. It fits exhibitions, performances, travel scenes, city lights, shop displays, scenery, and visual information that changes quickly.

Too much to take in is the most natural English. Dazzling variety works when the tone is positive. The eyes cannot keep up is good for teaching because it preserves the body-based logic of the Chinese phrase.

Do not use it for a heavy workload unless the work is actually visual. A long task list may be exhausting, but it is not 目不暇接 unless the eyes are receiving many scenes or items.

A strong sentence names the visual field. Museum exhibits, street performances, screens, lanterns, flowers, paintings, or market stalls give the idiom something to attach to. Without visible objects, use a plainer word.

Before using 目不暇接, write the plain English idea first. If the plain sentence already says everything naturally, the chengyu must add a sharper judgment, cultural image, or tone. If it does not add one of those, leave the plain wording alone.

A good 目不暇接 sentence contains an object and evidence. The object is the person, plan, habit, result, or scene being judged. The evidence is the reason the phrase fits. Without both parts, the idiom may look learned but feel empty.

Compare 目不暇接 with 闭月羞花 and 一模一样 before finalizing a sentence. The goal is not to memorize synonyms; the goal is to reject the wrong phrase for a clear reason. That rejection is what turns recognition into usable knowledge.

When teaching or self-reviewing 目不暇接, ask the learner to mark source, meaning, use case, wrong case, and one example. If any mark is missing, return to the entry section that supplies it rather than guessing from the headword alone.

museum exhibit is the first test zone for 目不暇接, but it is not the only possible use. Before using the phrase, name the speaker, the object being judged, and the nearest tested context: museum exhibit, festival street, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check, context setup, teacher correction, translation choice. Then choose among too much to take in, dazzling variety, the eyes cannot keep up as translation candidates and reject at least one candidate out loud. A useful final check is to compare the sentence with bi-yue-xiu-hua and cang-hai-sang-tian; if one of those nearby entries explains the situation with less strain, the nearby phrase is the better learner choice.

When 目不暇接 is translated as too much to take in, the English should still preserve the phrase's tone. Keep impressed or overwhelmed and the everyday-speech use area visible when the audience is still learning the idiom. If a short translation hides the warning "Do not use it for abstract mental busyness unless the visual input is clear.", choose a fuller English explanation instead. This matters because the strongest chengyu pages should help readers decide when not to use the most convenient English equivalent.

Example Sentences

Each example labels the situation so you can choose a natural English translation.

museum exhibit

博物馆的新展品太多，观众看得目不暇接。

Bówùguǎn de xīn zhǎnpǐn tài duō, guānzhòng kàn de mùbùxiájiē.

There were so many new exhibits in the museum that visitors could hardly take them all in.

festival street

街上的灯光和表演接连出现，让游客目不暇接。

Jiē shàng de dēngguāng hé biǎoyǎn jiēlián chūxiàn, ràng yóukè mùbùxiájiē.

Lights and performances appeared one after another on the street, leaving tourists with too much to take in.

usage boundary

目不暇接通常说眼睛忙不过来，不适合形容单纯工作很多。

Mùbùxiájiē tōngcháng shuō yǎnjing máng bù guòlái, bù shìhé xíngróng dānchún gōngzuò hěn duō.

目不暇接 usually means the eyes cannot keep up, so it is not suitable for simply having a lot of work.

misuse boundary

如果只是普通情况，不要为了显得有文化而硬说目不暇接。

ru guo zhi shi pu tong qing kuang bu yao wei le xian de you wen hua er ying shuo mu bu xia jie

If the situation is ordinary, do not force 目不暇接 just to make the sentence sound more cultured.

comparison check

比较近义成语以后，再决定这里是不是应该写目不暇接。

bi jiao jin yi cheng yu yi hou zai jue ding zhe li shi bu shi ying gai xie mu bu xia jie

After comparing nearby chengyu, decide whether 目不暇接 is really the phrase the sentence needs.

context setup

这段话先说明对象和原因，所以目不暇接读起来不突兀。

zhe duan hua xian shuo ming dui xiang he yuan yin suo yi mu bu xia jie du qi lai bu tu wu

The passage names the object and cause first, so 目不暇接 does not feel abrupt.

teacher correction

老师让学生先解释为什么不用别的词，再用目不暇接造句。

lao shi rang xue sheng xian jie shi wei shen me bu yong bie de ci zai yong mu bu xia jie zao ju

The teacher asks students to explain why another phrase would be wrong before writing a sentence with 目不暇接.

translation choice

翻译时可以先写普通英文，再判断目不暇接是否让意思更准确。

fan yi shi ke yi xian xie pu tong ying wen zai pan duan mu bu xia jie shi fou rang yi si geng zhun que

When translating, write plain English first, then decide whether 目不暇接 makes the meaning more accurate.

Story and Cultural Context

目不暇接 is built from the body. The eyes are trying to receive what appears before them, but the scene gives them no spare moment. That physical feeling explains the modern meaning better than a fixed story does. The phrase is common when visitors enter a garden, museum, market, festival, stage performance, or richly changing screen. It can praise abundance, but it can also describe overload. English speakers should keep the visual channel visible. If the problem is a crowded schedule or a difficult decision, another phrase is usually better. 目不暇接 begins with a viewer's body. The eyes cannot receive everything because too many sights arrive too quickly or too richly. That makes the phrase different from being busy, confused, or emotionally overwhelmed. It belongs to visual abundance: exhibits, lanterns, city streets, performances, screens, shop windows, scenery, or festival scenes. The phrase can be admiring, because abundance is exciting, but it can also describe overload. A careful learner sentence should let the reader see what the eyes are trying to follow. For this entry, the origin note is only the beginning of the explanation. The useful question is why 目不暇接 survived as a portable judgment rather than as a decorative allusion. The classical story route gives the reader an image, but the modern sentence must still prove its own fit. A learner should ask three things: what concrete object is being judged, what evidence in the sentence supports that judgment, and what tone the phrase adds that a plain English adjective would not add. This is why the page tests 目不暇接 through museum exhibit, festival street, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check; each context changes the pressure on the phrase and shows whether the idiom is acting as praise, warning, neutral description, or criticism. The story or usage background also has a translation boundary. 目不暇接 can point toward too much to take in, dazzling variety, the eyes cannot keep up, but those English choices are not interchangeable. One version may preserve the image, another may sound natural in a classroom answer, and another may be safer in a workplace or essay sentence. The entry therefore treats public references as source cards, not as a paragraph order to imitate. Headword checks, story labels, and English equivalents are separated first; only after that are they rebuilt into the learner path used here: answer, label, examples, wrong-use clinic, comparison, story, and practice. The most common failure is overextension. Because 目不暇接 has a memorable surface, learners may reach for it whenever a topic feels close. The better habit is to compare it with 闭月羞花 and 沧海桑田 and with 一模一样 and 马马虎虎 before writing. If the rejected phrase is hard to reject, the sentence probably has not supplied enough evidence. If the rejected phrase is easy to reject, the learner can explain the boundary and use 目不暇接 with confidence. That is the practical purpose of the origin section: it turns cultural memory into a sentence-level decision instead of leaving the reader with a story and no next action.

Learning point: Use this phrase when abundance is seen by the eyes faster than it can be processed.

Open the dedicated story page

Editorial Notes

These notes turn the entry into a decision path, not a loose definition.

First answer before details

目不暇接 should first be read as a decision about too much to take in visually, not as a collectible story label. The classical story helps memory, but the reader's real task is to decide whether the modern sentence is making a neutral judgment with enough evidence. Start with the object being described, then ask what happened, who is being judged, and whether the tone is fair. If those details are missing, the idiom will feel like learned decoration rather than useful Chinese. This first-answer rule also helps teachers and translators: they can explain the phrase quickly before deciding whether a longer story, comparison, or correction block is needed.

Example clinic

The examples for 目不暇接 deliberately cover museum exhibit, festival street, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check because a learner needs more than one successful sentence before the phrase becomes usable. Read the Chinese sentence, then explain in plain English why this phrase is more precise than a simple adjective or loose translation. A strong example names the context, shows the evidence, and makes the tone visible. A weak example merely places the chengyu near a related topic. This habit prevents a common error: remembering the literal image but forgetting the social judgment carried by the phrase. When the example feels forced, return to the meaning line and choose a plainer wording.

Comparison boundary

Before using 目不暇接, compare it with 闭月羞花 and 沧海桑田 and, when possible, with 一模一样 and 马马虎虎. The comparison is not a synonym game. Nearby chengyu often share effort, caution, wisdom, or evaluation as a topic, while differing in cause, timing, and emotional force. A good learner sentence can explain why the rejected phrase fails. If that explanation is impossible, the chosen idiom is probably too loose. This is also the cleanest internal-link reason: the next page exists because it helps the reader reject a tempting but wrong choice. The comparison should leave a reusable rule, not merely another link to click.

Wrong-use trigger

目不暇接 should be rejected when the sentence lacks an object, hides the reason for the judgment, or uses the idiom only because it sounds literary. The safest correction is to rewrite the sentence in plain English first, then add the chengyu only if it sharpens the meaning. If the tone becomes unfair, choose a gentler nearby phrase. If the source image is memorable but the modern object does not match, use the story only as background and do not force the idiom into the sentence. This wrong-use trigger is what keeps the entry from becoming a long but vague dictionary page.

Source synthesis note

目不暇接 uses public references as checkpoints rather than as a structure to copy. One source may help with the headword, another with a story or image, and another with English translation range. The page then rebuilds those checks into its own learner order: short answer, label, examples, misuse, collocation, guide, story, and practice. This matters because a single-source paraphrase would give readers a familiar-looking article but not a better learning tool. The editorial value here is the decision path: what to use, what not to use, what to compare, and how to test the phrase in a new sentence.

Practice This Decision

Answer a focused quiz question, then come back to the examples and misuse clinic if the near phrase feels tempting.

Start focused quizReview mistakes first