‘Zhēng yǎn’ literally means ‘to open one’s eyes’ — combining 睁 (zhēng), a verb meaning ‘to open (eyes)’, and 眼 (yǎn), meaning ‘eye(s)’. While it can describe the simple physical act of opening one’s eyes upon waking, it is more frequently used figuratively to express becoming aware, gaining insight, or awakening to reality — especially after ignorance, denial, or illusion. This metaphorical usage reflects a common Chinese conceptualization of vision as linked to understanding and truth.

The phrase often appears in contexts involving realization, social awakening, or personal growth — for example, when someone finally recognizes injustice, sees through deception, or accepts an uncomfortable truth. It carries a slightly literary or emphatic tone and is rarely used in casual speech for literal eye-opening (where 睁开眼睛 is more common). It may appear in set phrases like 睁眼说瞎话 (‘to lie blatantly while wide awake’) or in rhetorical questions like ‘你怎么还不睁眼？’ (‘How can you still not see the truth?’).