How to Write 瞋 (chēn) — Meaning “To glare”

Imagine you are so angry that your eyes become wide and 'true' (真) — your real emotions cannot be hidden. Picture someone glaring with eyes enlarged to show their true anger, and the right side 真 helps you recall the pronunciation chēn.

The left radical 目 must be narrow and tall, taking about one-third of the character. The right side 真 has 10 strokes: start with a short left-falling stroke, then a horizontal line, vertical, two horizontals, another vertical, a left-falling, and two dots at the bottom. A common mistake is writing only one dot at the bottom instead of two.

瞋 (chēn) means to glare with wide eyes in anger, while 睘 (qióng) is a rare character meaning to look around or be alone. 睚 (yá) means to stare angrily from the corner of the eye, often in the phrase 睚眦必报 (to take revenge for a glare). Visually, 瞋 has 真 on the right, 睚 has 厓 (yá), and 睘 has 袁 (yuán).

瞋 is not part of common daily vocabulary but appears in literary or classical Chinese expressions, such as 瞋目 (chēn mù) 'to glare angrily' and 瞋怪 (chēn guài) 'to rebuke angrily'. It conveys intense anger and is often used in idioms or formal writing to describe a person's furious expression.

Common words containing 瞋 include: 瞋目 (chēn mù) — To glare with wide eyes; 瞋怪 (chēn guài) — To rebuke angrily; 瞋视 (chēn shì) — To glare at.