Gyeon-mul-saeng-sim

見

볼 견

物

물건 물

生

날 생

心

마음 심

Character by character

Meaning

See the thing and the wanting begins.

Origin

A Korean coinage rather than a Chinese classic, appearing in late Joseon writing.

How it is used

Used to warn against impulse buying, or to argue for keeping temptations out of sight.

Hanja見物生心

Simplified见物生心

Korean reading견물생심

Pinyinjiàn wù shēng xīn

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Gyeon-mul-saeng-sim mean?

見物生心 · See the thing and the wanting begins.

Q. Where does Gyeon-mul-saeng-sim come from?

A Korean coinage rather than a Chinese classic, appearing in late Joseon writing.

Q. How is Gyeon-mul-saeng-sim used?

Used to warn against impulse buying, or to argue for keeping temptations out of sight.

Idioms in the same group

有備無患 Yu-bi-mu-hwanIf you prepare in advance, there is nothing to worry about.易地思之 Yeok-ji-sa-jiThink about it after swapping places with the other person.初志一貫 Cho-ji-il-gwanCarry the resolve you started with all the way through, unchanged.名不虛傳 Myeong-bul-heo-jeonThe reputation was not passed on in vain — it lives up to the name.靑出於藍 Cheong-chul-eo-ramThe blue drawn from the indigo plant is bluer than the plant — the student surpasses the teacher.大器晩成 Dae-gi-man-seongA great vessel takes long to finish — those destined for greatness succeed late.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.