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眼

Mandarin · pinyin yǎn

eye (Classifier: 隻 zhī, 雙 shuāng)
(often used with 一 yī) a look; a glance
small hole
(bound form) salient point
classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc

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Characters in this entry

眼: yǎn · eye; eyelet, hole, opening

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3 · yan3

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1character link63same-tone records7source references

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngaan5

Cantonese word readings for 眼. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

(anatomy) eye (Classifier: 隻／只 m c; 雙／双 m c; 對／对 c)
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to see; to view; to see ... in person
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to keep sight of; to monitor; to watch
sight; vision
Classifier for actions of the eye: glance; glimpse
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to testify; to witness
eyelet; aperture; hole; opening
tempo in the opera
territory in game Go (board game).
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) loophole; shortcoming
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) bubbles of boiling water
mesh
key point; critical moment
(go) trap
Classifier for springs, wells and ponds.
(Northern Wu) some; a bit
(Cantonese, mahjong) two identical tiles which are an essential part of a legal winning hand
(Cantonese) Classifier for lamps.
(Cantonese) Classifier for needles.
(Xiamen, Quanzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) to glance at; to take a look at

character · Etymology 2

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) protruding; bulging (like bulging eyes)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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