睁

睜
zhēng
verb HSK 6 #2,923

Meanings

  1. 1 to open (eyes)
  2. 2 to stare

Examples

HSK 2
Qǐng zhēng kāi nǐ de yǎnjing.
Please open your eyes.
HSK 2
Tā zhēng dà yǎnjing kàn zhe wǒ.
He stared at me with wide eyes.
HSK 4
Tā yī zhěng wǎn dōu zhēng zhe yǎnjing.
She kept her eyes open all night.

Tips

usage
睁 is the opposite of 闭 (to close). Common collocations: 睁开 (to open eyes), 睁大 (to widen eyes), 睁眼 (to open one's eyes).

Components

radical
目 mù
eye
Left eye radical - indexing radical for 睁. A vertical-rotated rectangle with two interior bars, originally a sideways pictograph of an eye. Anchors 睁 in the seeing/eye-action family alongside 看 (look), 眼 (eye), 眨 (blink), 瞪 (stare). Marks the action as something done with the eye.
phonetic
争 zhēng
compete; struggle
Right phonetic 争 - supplies the sound exactly (zhēng, no drift). Originally pictured two hands pulling at the same object, hence 'struggle, contend.' Combined image of 睁: the eye plus a struggle - the small effort of forcing eyelids apart in the morning. A vivid mnemonic that the English 'eyes struggling open' captures.

Stroke Order

睁 zhēng