How to Write 瞄 (miáo) — Meaning “To aim”

Picture a seedling (苗) in a field, and you use your eye (目) to carefully aim at it. The character literally combines "eye" and "seedling" to suggest focusing your gaze on a small target. Imagine squinting one eye to aim, and you'll remember 瞄 means "to aim."

The left radical 目 must be narrow and tall, and the right part 苗 starts with 艹 (grass radical) which is written as a wide horizontal stroke. Be careful not to make the top of 苗 too small; the 田 below should be balanced. A common mistake is writing the right side too wide, making the character look unbalanced.

瞄 (miáo) means "to aim" and always involves a focused gaze, while 眦 (zì) refers specifically to the corner of the eye, and 眭 (suī or huī) means to gaze deeply or has a different pronunciation. Visually, 瞄 has the phonetic 苗, 眦 has 此 (cǐ), and 眭 has 圭 (guī), so their right-side components are completely different.

瞄 is most often used in the compound 瞄准 (miáo zhǔn), meaning "to aim at" a target, especially in shooting or sports. It can also mean "to take a quick look" in casual speech, like 瞄一眼 (miáo yī yǎn, "to glance"). While not common in formal writing, it appears in military, archery, and everyday contexts for focusing one's sight.

Common words containing 瞄 include: 瞄准 (miáo zhǔn) — To aim at; 瞄一眼 (miáo yī yǎn) — To take a glance; 瞄向 (miáo xiàng) — To aim towards.