# 袖手旁观

xiù shǒu páng guān

Watch without offering help

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Keep hands in sleeves and watch nearby

**Traditional Chinese:** 袖手旁觀

**Register:** Critical · general

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Criticize passive observation when help is needed.

Intervention should still be safe and appropriate.

## Understanding the expression

Hands hidden in sleeves cannot reach out to assist. The image describes someone staying comfortably aside while others face difficulty. Modern use usually criticizes indifference or refusal to take responsibility. It can also be a call to help with a shared problem. Watching alone is not always wrong, since unsafe intervention may worsen matters. The phrase assumes that some suitable action, support, or report was available but deliberately withheld.

## Examples

邻居有困难，我们不能袖手旁观。

### Traditional Chinese

鄰居有困難，我們不能袖手旁觀。

lín jū yǒu kùn nán ， wǒ men bù néng xiù shǒu páng guān 。

We cannot stand by while our neighbors struggle.

他袖手旁观，让同伴独自收拾。

### Traditional Chinese

他袖手旁觀，讓同伴獨自收拾。

tā xiù shǒu páng guān ， ràng tóng bàn dú zì shōu shí 。

He watched while his companion cleaned up alone.

遇到欺凌，不该袖手旁观。

### Traditional Chinese

遇到欺凌，不該袖手旁觀。

yù dào qī líng ， bù gāi xiù shǒu páng guān 。

We should not stand by when bullying occurs.

她没有袖手旁观，而是叫来救援。

### Traditional Chinese

她沒有袖手旁觀，而是叫來救援。

tā méi yǒu xiù shǒu páng guān ， ér shì jiào lái jiù yuán 。

She did not simply watch; she called for rescue.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E8%A2%96%E6%89%8B%E6%97%81%E8%A7%80)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=180&webMd=1&la=0)

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