目

• Reading: め
• Romaji: me
• Kanji breakdown: 目 (moku/me) — eye, look
• Pronunciation: /me/

Meaning

Eye; eyeball. One of the most fundamental body-part words.

Refers to the physical eye and also to sight or vision. Appears in many common expressions: 目が悪い (poor eyesight), 目を覚ます (to wake up), 目立つ (to stand out). As a suffix it can indicate an ordinal marker (三つ目 = third one) or a point/experience (痛い目にあう = have a painful experience).

Examples

1. 目が疲れたのでパソコンを休みます。 My eyes are tired, so I'm going to take a break from the computer.
2. この猫は青い目をしている。 This cat has blue eyes.
3. 朝早く目が覚めました。 I woke up early in the morning.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, health, description

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Old Japanese. The kanji 目 is a pictograph representing the shape of an eye viewed from the front.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal