眺

tiào

兆 + 目

Definitions

tiào (verb) to gaze into the distance

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 目 represents the meaning and 兆 represents the sound.

Semantic: 目 Phonetic: 兆

About

眺 is a phono-semantic compound made up of the radical 目 (mù, 'eye') and the phonetic element 兆 (zhào, 'omen' or 'million'). The eye radical on the left clearly establishes its connection to sight and looking, while the 兆 component on the right gives it its pronunciation. Its specific sense goes beyond ordinary looking: it means to cast one's gaze far into the distance, especially from a high or elevated vantage point. In compound words, 眺 frequently teams up with other characters meaning 'to look' or 'to see' in order to describe the act of surveying distant panoramas, observing sweeping views, or scanning the horizon from a height.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他向远处眺望。

Tā xiàng yuǎn chù tiàowàng.

He gazes into the distance.

我经常眺望星空。

Wǒ jīngcháng tiàowàng xīngkōng.

I often gaze at the starry sky.

我们在山顶眺望美景。

Wǒmen zài shāndǐng tiàowàng měijǐng.

We gaze at the beautiful scenery from the mountaintop.

她喜欢眺望海上的日出。

Tā xǐhuān tiàowàng hǎi shàng de rìchū.

She likes to gaze at the sunrise over the sea.

老人每天都会眺望远方的村庄。

Lǎorén měitiān dōu huì tiàowàng yuǎnfāng de cūnzhuāng.

The old man gazes at the distant village every day.

为了放松心情，我眺望着广阔的田野。

Wèile fàngsōng xīnqíng, wǒ tiàowàng zhe guǎngkuò de tiányě.

To relax, I gaze at the vast fields.

当他感到孤独时，就会眺望窗外的城市灯火。

Dāng tā gǎndào gūdú shí, jiù huì tiàowàng chuāng wài de chéngshì dēnghuǒ.

When he feels lonely, he gazes at the city lights outside the window.

从这座高塔上，我们可以眺望整个城市的轮廓。

Cóng zhè zuò gāo tǎ shàng, wǒmen kěyǐ tiàowàng zhěnggè chéngshì de lúnkuò.

From this tall tower, we can gaze at the outline of the entire city.

Related Characters

Component: 兆

Component: 目

眺