shì
verb #3,594

Meanings

  1. 1 to look at; to watch
  2. 2 to regard; to consider
  3. 3 vision; sight

Examples

HSK 1
Nǐ xǐhuan kàn diànshì ma?
Do you like watching TV?
HSK 4
Bùyào hūshì zhège wèntí.
Don't ignore this problem.

Tips

usage
appears in 电视 (diànshì, television), 视频 (shìpín, video), 重视 (zhòngshì, to value/emphasize), 忽视 (hūshì, to neglect), 视力 (shìlì, eyesight), 视角 (shìjiǎo, perspective).

Components

radical
jiàn
to see
Right indexing radical (Kangxi #147 in simplified form) - a person with an oversized eye, the picture of vision. Carries the entire meaning core of . Anchors the character in the seeing family alongside (observe), (perceive), (peruse). The contrast with : is passive 'see,' is active 'look at, regard.'
phonetic
shì
altar; ritual
Left component supplies the sound: shì → shì (exact match). Although graphically the altar-radical (left-side of ), here it functions purely as the phonetic. The sense link is faint - divination at an altar involves 'looking carefully' - but pedagogically read this slot as the sound, not the meaning.

Stroke Order

shì