This is a popup for the Chinese version of L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux 'What is essential is invisible to the eye', from The Little Prince.

所 suǒ

Five translations use the grammatical particle 所 suǒ, a feature of the Classical language and modern written literary style. This 所 suǒ is used when the verb is understood as taking an object. An example is the following sentence:

最主要的要点是眼睛所看不见的。
Zuì zhǔyào de yàodiǎn shì yǎnjing suǒ kàn-bu-jiàn de.
'The most important key point is (what) the eyes can't see.'

In this example, the particle 的 de can be regarded as the object of the verb 看不见 kàn-bu-jiàn. 的 de here stands in for a noun that is not expressed, e.g. 事情 shìqing 'thing, matter, affair'.

The other translations using 所 suǒ are:

事物的本质，恰恰是眼睛所无法看到的。
Shìwù de běnzhì, qiàqià shì yǎnjing suǒ wúfǎ kàndào de.
'The essence of matters, is exactly what the eyes have no way of seeing.'

这是我们的肉眼所看不到的。
Zhè shì wǒmen de ròuyǎn suǒ kàn-bu-dào de.
'This is what our naked eyes can't see.'

本质的东西是肉眼所看不到的。
Běnzhì de dōngxi shì ròuyǎn suǒ kàn-bu-dào de.
'Essential things the naked eye cannot see.'

重要的东西，并非眼睛所见。
Zhòngyào de dōngxi, bìng fēi yǎnjing suǒ jiàn.
'Important things, the eyes do not see.'

The final example is written in a literary or pseudo-classical style.

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