Meaning:
“辣” means “spicy,” and “眼睛” refers to “eyes.” Literally meaning “eyes getting irritated by something spicy,” this term is used metaphorically to mean that something is too irritating to watch. Netizens first used the phrase to comment on a video posted by an Internet celebrity. That person got his Weibo account suspended after being found posting pornography and had to make an apology in the video. The term, voted one of the top 10 online Chinese buzzwords, has been used to describe people or things unsightly. The term is also used jokingly to describe provocative scenes.
Example:
A: 这是什么照片，怎么这样辣眼睛？
Zhè shì shénme zhàopiān, zěnme zhèyàng là yǎnjīng?
What’s that you are looking at? It’s hard on the eyes!
B: 这是网传法国一所高中某班级的毕业照，学生老师都是全裸出镜，用黑色纸板遮住隐私部位。
Zhè shì wǎng chuán fǎguó yīsuǒ gāozhōng mǒu bānjí de bìyè zhào, xuéshēng lǎoshī dōu shì quánluǒ chūjìng, yòng hēisè zhǐbǎn zhēzhù yǐnsī bùwèi。
This photo posted online is said to be a graduation picture taken by some high school students in France. All students and teachers posed naked, with their private parts covered by black cardboards.
(Edited by Stephanie Yang)