How to Write 瞳 (tóng) — Meaning “pupil (of the eye)”

Imagine that the pupil of your eye is like a tiny child (童) sitting inside your eye (目). This visual of a child in the eye helps you remember that 瞳 means 'pupil' and is pronounced 'tóng'.

Write the left radical 目 first with five strokes, making it narrow and tall. Then add the right part 童, which has twelve strokes; be careful to keep the top '立' portion balanced and not too wide. A common mistake is making the whole character too wide or writing the right side's lower '里' part incorrectly.

Unlike 瞳, which means pupil of the eye, 瞈 (wěng) is a rare character meaning a kind of eye condition. 瞋 (chēn) means to glare or look angrily, and it uses the component 真 instead of 童. So 瞳 is about the eye's anatomy, while 瞋 describes an eye expression.

瞳 is most commonly found in the word 瞳孔 (tóng kǒng), meaning the pupil of the eye, used in medical or daily contexts. It also appears in literary phrases like 瞳仁 and 瞳神, especially in poetry or classical writing to refer to the eye's pupil with a graceful tone.

Common words containing 瞳 include: 瞳孔 (tóng kǒng) — pupil (of the eye); 瞳仁 (tóng rén) — pupil (of the eye); 瞳神 (tóng shén) — pupil (literary).