觊 (jì): to covet

Meanings

几个强国觊觎这块富饶又险要的土地。

Jì yú

Several powers coveted this rich and strategic territory.

他早就觊觎王位。

Jì yú

He has long coveted the throne.

usage

觊 is a bound character living in 觊觎, to covet something one has no right to, especially power or territory. It always carries a disapproving tone.

radical

见 jiàn

to see; to look

见 is the see radical on the right. Coveting starts with the eye: wanting what one looks at, so the seeing radical carries the meaning.

phonetic

岂 qǐ

how; surely not

岂 supplies the sound, shifted from qǐ to jì. It is the phonetic element on the left and contributes only the reading here.

觊 jì