眼 yǎn — eye; a look, a glance; a small hole or aperture; measure word for wells and springs

Pinyin

• yǎn (third tone, dipping)

eye; a look, a glance; a small hole or aperture; measure word for wells and springs

Character breakdown

• 目meaning partThe eye radical, stood upright by the writing column.
• 艮sound partno entry yet艮 gèn for the sound; the same phonetic as in 很, 跟 and 银.

Mnemonic

The eye 目 with 艮 for the sound. 目 is the older word and is now mostly bookish, so the everyday noun is 眼睛 — with 睛, the same eye plus 青 for the sound, a character that exists almost only in this pair. Also 眼镜 spectacles, and 看一眼, to take a look, counted by the glance.

A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.

Words containing 眼

• 眼睛yǎnjing (third tone, dipping)eye, eyes

Radical 目 — other characters

• 看kàn (fourth tone, falling) kān (first tone, high and level)to look at, to watch, to read; to consider, to regard; to visit; to consult (a doctor); (kān) to look after, to keep watch over
• 目mù (fourth tone, falling)eye; an item or entry in a list (目录 a table of contents)
• 睡shuì (fourth tone, falling)to sleep; to lie down to sleep