目を凝らす

• Reading: めをこらす
• Romaji: me wo korasu
• Kanji breakdown: 目 (moku/me) — eye; 凝 (gyō/ko) — to congeal, to concentrate, to strain
• Pronunciation: /me.o.ko.ɾa.sɯ/

Meaning

To strain one's eyes; to stare intently; to peer closely at something difficult to see.

A set phrase using 凝らす (to concentrate intensely, to strain). The verb 凝らす means to focus or fix intensely on something — 目を凝らす directs that intense gaze toward an object that is hard to see, whether due to darkness, distance, or small size. Common in literary descriptions and tense or suspenseful situations.

Examples

1. 暗闇に目を凝らしても何も見えなかった。 I strained my eyes in the darkness but couldn't see anything.
2. 彼は小さな文字に目を凝らして読み続けた。 He kept peering closely at the tiny text as he continued reading.
3. 目を凝らすと遠くに小さな灯台が見えてきた。 When I squinted hard, I could make out a small lighthouse in the distance.

Usage Guide

Context: literature, suspense, observation, daily life

Tone: tense

Origin & History

From 凝らす (to harden, to concentrate) combined with 目 (eye). 凝らす originally means to make something dense or fixed; in this compound it expresses the intense focusing and fixing of one's gaze.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal