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左顧右眄 (さこうべん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb
looking around ; glancing left and right ; vacillation
yojijukugo (four-character idiom)
A yojijukugo meaning to look around restlessly or to be unable to decide, often with a nuance of hesitation or indecision. Can be used literally for looking around, but more often figuratively for wavering.
During the meeting, he just kept looking around and didn't express his opinion.
Kanji 顧 look back, review, examine oneself Similar words 右う 顧こ 左さ 眄べん Same meaning but with the characters for right and left reversed; less common than 左顧右眄.
優ゆう 柔じゅう 不ふ 断だん Means indecisiveness or irresolution, focusing on the inability to decide, while 左顧右眄 emphasizes the restless looking around or hesitation.
Etymology A yojijukugo of Chinese origin, combining 左 (left), 顧 (look back), 右 (right), and 眄 (glance sideways). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it is conventionally associated with the idea of looking around indecisively.
