字の旅3,000 years in four forms
Oracle bone · ShangShang · c. 1200 BCE鐵16.1 合11654
Oracle bone: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Bronze and small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
部首Radical · in Human Body & People
目 eye (side form)
めへん mehen · side form of 目 め me
5 strokesRadical of 21 kanjiPart of 25
Origin · sourced
Pictogram象形
Human eye, now rotated 90 degrees.
Source: Wiktionary, 目 (rev. 93947436), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Open your eyes to the world! This radical brings the power of sight, the depth of silent observation, and the absolute clarity of perception to its kanji. When it sits on the left, think of looking, seeing, specific eye movements like blinking or staring, and the mental "vision" we use to understand reality. It is the radical of the visual artist, the silent witness, and the sharp-eyed analyst.”
Where it sits in a kanji
Indicates vision and sight, physical parts of the eye, activities like staring or blinking, mental perception, or the state of being drowsy or asleep.
What it grows into
- 県prefectureケン · かける
目 + 木 + 糸
To hang with the string 糸 by the head 目 (using an eye to represent a head) on a tree 木. Originally referred to 懸 (“to hang”); later jiajie (假借) for 縣 (“administrative division”).
Ideogrammic compound · Wiktionary, 縣, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 直straightawayチョク · ただちに
目 + 丨
Oracle bone script: Ideogrammic compound (會意): 目 (“eye”) + 丨 (“?”).
Ideogrammic compound · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 看watch overカン · みる
Every kanji with 目 as its radical
All 21 kanji