眼

• Pinyin: yǎn
• Hanzi breakdown: 眼 = 目 (eye radical) + 艮 (phonetic component meaning firm/still)

Meaning

Eye. Also used as a measure word for glances or quick looks.

As a noun, 眼 means eye and often appears in the compound 眼睛 (yǎnjing). As a measure word, it is used specifically with 看 (kàn, to look) to count glances, as in 看了一眼 (kànle yī yǎn, took a glance). It also appears in useful expressions like 眼前 (yǎnqián, before one's eyes) and 眼光 (yǎnguāng, vision/taste).

Examples

1. 他看了我一眼就走了。 He glanced at me and then left.
2. 你的眼怎么红了？ Why have your eyes gone red?
3. 我只看了一眼就记住了。 I remembered it after just one glance.

Usage Guide

Context: body parts, descriptions

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 让我看一眼。(Let me take a look.)
• 他多看了她一眼。(He took an extra glance at her.)

Don't Say

• 我的两个眼很大 (Unnatural measure word — say 我的两只眼睛很大; eyes use the measure word 只, not 个, and 眼睛 is preferred over 眼 alone for the body part)

Origin & History

The character 眼 combines 目 (mù, eye) with 艮 (gěn, still/tough). The 目 radical indicates the meaning relates to seeing, while 艮 provides the phonetic component.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal