盯 (dīng): to stare at

Meanings

1 to stare at
2 to watch closely
3 to keep an eye on

Characters

盯

dīng

to stare at; to fix eyes on

Examples

别老盯着我看。

Biélǎo dīng zhe wǒ kàn.

Stop staring at me.

警察一直在盯着他。

Jǐngchá yīzhí zài dīng zhe tā.

The police have been watching him closely.

你盯紧那个人。

Nǐ dīng jǐn nàge rén.

Keep a close eye on that person.

Tips

usage

盯 implies an intense, focused gaze — not a casual look. Often used with 着 (zhe) for continuous staring: 盯着看. 盯紧 (dīngjǐn) means to watch tightly/closely.

Components

radical

目 mù

eye

Left eye radical — pictograph of an eye stood on end (rotated from horizontal so it fits as a tall left-side component). Anchors 盯 as an eye-action. Family: 看 (look), 眼 (eye), 睛 (eyeball), 睡 (sleep), 瞥 (glance). Where 看 is a casual look, 盯 is a locked stare.

phonetic

丁 dīng

nail; man (here phonetic)

Right 丁 supplies the sound directly — dīng, no shift. Same phonetic in 订 dìng (order), 顶 dǐng (top), 钉 dīng (nail), 叮 dīng (sting). 丁 itself depicts a nail with head on top, shaft below. 'Nailing the eye on something' is a happy mnemonic for 盯's locked stare.