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Kanji Detail for 目 - "eye, item, appearance"

目

  • Meaning

    目 means "eye, item, appearance."

    1. Eye - The organ of sight.

    2. Item - A category; a division.

    3. Appearance - Looks; how things seem.

    4. Mesh - The holes in a net or sieve.

    5. Counter - A suffix for ordinal numbers.

  • Words using 目

    • 目標 もくひょう Listen goal; target; aim
    • 目的 もくてき Listen purpose; goal; aim
    • 注目 ちゅうもく Listen notice; attention; observation
    • 項目 こうもく Listen item; heading; category
    • 名目 めいもく Listen name; title; appellation
    • 目玉 めだま Listen eyeball; special feature; centerpiece
    • 種目 しゅもく Listen item; event
    • 目前 もくぜん Listen before one's very eyes; under one's nose; imminence

  • Four-character idioms with 目

    • 目茶目茶 めちゃめちゃ Listen disorderly; messy; ruined
    • 一目十行 いちもくじゅうぎょう Listen outstanding reading ability
    • 一目瞭然 いちもくりょうぜん Listen obvious; (as) clear as day; plain to see
    • 反目嫉視 はんもくしっし Listen jealousy and enmity; being jealous of and at odds with (each other)
    • 夜目遠目 よめとおめ Listen seen in the dark or at a distance; (a woman) looking prettier when seen in the dark or at a distance
    • 嫉視反目 しっしはんもく Listen jealousy and enmity; being jealous of and at odds with (each other)

  • Origin of 目

    A pictograph of the eye — pupil and lids — turned upright to fit the vertical flow of writing.

    How to remember it: An eye stood on end — the pupil is still there, boxed between the lids.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 目

    • Verified meaning: eye, item, appearance
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read さがみ, さかん, さがん, さっか)

    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 目

    Given names 目(さがん)Listen 目(まなこ)Listen

    Surnames 目(さがみ)Listen 目(さかん)Listen 目(さっか)Listen 目(さつか)Listen 目(め)Listen 目(めさき)Listen 目(めざき)Listen 目(めつぎ)Listen 目(もく)Listen 目(もくざき)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    eye; class; look; insight; experience; care; favor

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    eye; look, see; division, topic; Kangxi radical 109

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    eye; (literary) to look; to regard; eye (of a net); mesh; mesh size; grit size (abbr. for 目數|目数[mu4 shu4]); item; section; list; catalogue; (taxonomy) order; name; title

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    eye; to look, to see; division, topic

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

    The visual organ of humans and animals. Its internal structure is roughly like a camera. Has a biconvex crystalline lens. To capture the image of objects and transmit it to the retina behind the pupil. Then from the retina to the optic nerve to distinguish forms and colors. If the crystalline lens is too convex, the eye is nearsighted. Too flat, the eye is farsighted. | To look at. Staring intently at something is called 目. Such as saying 道路以目 (looking at each other on the road). Meaning looking sideways with contained anger. | To name. Such as 名稱 (designation) is also called 名目. | To evaluate. Such as categorizing it as 神品 (divine quality), like such categories. | Items. Such as in imperial examinations for selecting officials, the divisions are called 科目 (subjects). | To analyze. Such as in a net, the main rope is 綱 (outline). The square meshes formed by fine ropes are 目. As a metaphor for large and small corresponding, it is said 大綱細目 (main outline and fine details). Or 綱舉目張 (when the main rope is lifted, the mesh opens). | A catalogue. Such as books have 書目 (book catalogues). Writings have 篇目 (section titles). Their order is called 目次 (table of contents). Those who lead groups of people are called 頭目 (chief). Such as 匠目 (foreman) and such.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    boku(ボク) ボク

    moku(モク) モク

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    ma(ま) ま

    me(め) め

  • Strokes

    tip

    5 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    目 罒 (me・mehen)

  • Related Keywords

    eye item appearance counter discernment head look mesh officer order point taxonomy category cornea gaze glimpse holes iris net observe ocular optic ordinal organ pupil see sieve sight stare suffix

Sentences including 目

  • He won't have a look-in.

  • We see with our eyes.

  • He took a look at the newspaper before going to bed.

  • He stood still with his eyes closed.

  • My daughter is the apple of my eye.

  • I had a devil of a time.

  • My eyes feel irritated.

  • I hope to see you sometime.

  • Before he died , he was almost blind.

  • He fell in love with her at first sight.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 目 罒 (me・mehen)

See all kanji with this radical →

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