瞅

• Pinyin: chǒu
• Hanzi breakdown: 瞅 = 目 (eye) + 秋 (autumn, phonetic) = to look/glance

Meaning

To look; to glance; to peek (colloquial, especially northern dialects).

Informal word for looking, common in northern Chinese dialects. More casual than 看. Often implies a quick or furtive glance. Used in spoken language.

Examples

1. 你瞅瞅这是什么东西？ Take a look — what is this thing?
2. 他偷偷瞅了她一眼，心里怦怦直跳。 He snuck a glance at her, his heart pounding.
3. 瞅什么瞅？没见过帅哥啊？ What are you looking at? Never seen a handsome guy before?

Usage Guide

Context: colloquial, northern dialects, casual conversation

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 你瞅瞅人家多努力。(Look how hard they work.)
• 让我瞅一眼那份报告。(Let me take a look at that report.)

Don't Say

• 请您瞅一下文件 (Too informal for formal contexts — use 看 or 查看 in professional settings)

Origin & History

Dialectal variant of 看. The 目 radical indicates relation to eyes/seeing. Common in northeastern Mandarin.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal