How to Write 瞰 (kàn) — Meaning “to look down from a height; to overlook”

Imagine a person with a daring eye (目) who bravely (敢) looks down from a tall building. The 敢 part looks like a combination of 'ear' and 'attack' but just remember it as 'dare' – the eye dares to look down. This helps link the shape to the meaning.

Write the left radical 目 first (5 strokes), then the right part 敢 (11 strokes) for a total of 16. Pay attention to the right side: 敢 starts with 丿 and then 耳, but the bottom is 攵 (the 'tap' radical). A common mistake is confusing 敢 with 取 or 敢's bottom part – remember the 攵 at the end, not 又.

瞰 (kàn) means to look down from a height, while 睽 (kuí) means to stare in surprise or separation, as in 众目睽睽. 睾 (gāo) refers to a testicle (睾丸) and is not related to vision. Visually, 瞰 has 敢 on the right, 睽 has 癸, and 睾 has 皋 – so the right side differs.

瞰 is mainly used in formal or written contexts, especially in the words 俯瞰 (fǔ kàn, to overlook from above) and 鸟瞰 (niǎo kàn, bird's-eye view). It appears in descriptions of scenery, maps, or architecture, but is uncommon in everyday conversation. You might see it in travel writing or geography texts.

Common words containing 瞰 include: 俯瞰 (fǔ kàn) — to look down at or overlook; 鸟瞰 (niǎo kàn) — bird's-eye view; 瞰望 (kàn wàng) — to look down from a high place.