瞄 (miáo) · to aim (a weapon); to take aim; to glance at; to peek

Meanings

1 to aim (a weapon); to take aim; to glance at; to peek

Characters

瞄

miáo

to aim; to glance

Examples

HSK 5

狙击手正在瞄准敌人。

Jūjīshǒu zhèngzài miáozhǔn dírén.

The sniper is taking aim at the enemy.

HSK 6

她偷偷瞄了他一眼。

Tā tōutōu miáo le tā yī yǎn.

She secretly glanced at him.

HSK 7-9

他瞄准了靶子开枪。

Tā miáozhǔn le bǎzi kāiqiāng.

He aimed at the target and fired.

Tips

usage

瞄 has two main uses: 瞄准 means 'to aim at' (a weapon). Informally, 瞄一眼 means 'to take a quick glance' or 'to peek.' The casual sense is common in spoken Chinese.

Components

radical

目 mù

eye

Left eye radical - pictograph of an eye on its side, pupil and lid lines stacked vertically when used as a component. 瞄 means to aim or fix one's gaze, so the eye is the operative organ. Same family: 看 look, 眼 eye, 盯 stare, 瞧 glance.

phonetic

苗 miáo

seedling; sprout

Right 苗 supplies the sound miáo with no shift - a clean phonetic. 苗 depicts grass (艹) sprouting from a field (田), hence 'seedling.' Pure phonetic in 瞄 - focusing on a tiny sprout in a field makes a fine mnemonic for narrowing one's eyes on a small target.