Kanji Detail for 窺 - "to peek, to spy"

窺

Jinmeiyō Kanji

Meaning

窺 means "to peek, to spy." Also associated with to step forward.
1. To peek - To spy; to watch secretly; to aim at.
2. To step forward - To take a half step; to begin approaching.
Tattoo check: 窺
- Verified meaning: to peek, to spy
- Jinmeiyō kanji — officially approved for use in Japanese given names
- Used in real Japanese given names (read うかがい)
- Also carries these associations: to step forward
A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.
Name readings of 窺

Surnames 窺(うかがい)
Dictionary Citations

The meaning above is based on the following sources:

KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

lie in wait; spy on; reconnoiter

Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

peep, watch, spy on, pry

CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

to peep; to pry into

Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

to peep, to spy on, to watch

XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

To peek. Looking through cracks is called 窺. (Mencius) "Drilling holes and peeping through gaps."
Onyomi

ki(キ)
Kunyomi

nozo.ku(のぞ-く)

ukaga.u(うかが-う)
Strokes

16 strokes
Radical

穴 (ana・anakammuri)
Related Keywords

to peek to step forward to spy aim observe peep examine gaze inspect pry scrutinize snoop watch