How to Write 眼 (yǎn) — Meaning “eye”

Think of the left side 目 as an eye, and the right side 艮 as a pair of glasses sitting on it. This helps you remember both the meaning (eye) and a common word 眼镜 (glasses). Alternatively, imagine the dot inside 艮 is the pupil of the eye.

Write the left part 目 first with 5 strokes: vertical, then three horizontals, then a final vertical. Then write the right part 艮: start with a horizontal fold, then a short horizontal, a vertical, then two more horizontals, and finish with a left-falling and right-falling stroke. A common mistake is making the right side too tall or confusing it with 良 – keep the bottom of 艮 level with the bottom of 目.

眼 (yǎn, eye) has the right side 艮, while 相 (xiāng, mutual) has 木 (tree) on the right. 盹 (dǔn, doze) has 屯 (tún) on the right – it means a short sleep. Visually, 眼 is wider because of the extra strokes in 艮, and 相 looks more balanced with a tree-like shape.

眼 is used for the physical eye, as in 眼睛 (yǎnjīng, eye) and 眼镜 (yǎnjìng, glasses). It also appears in words like 眼泪 (yǎnlèi, tears) and 眼力 (yǎnlì, eyesight). Culturally, 眼 can mean a 'key point' in idioms like 眼高手低, meaning someone has high standards but low skill.

Common words containing 眼 include: 眼睛 (yǎn jīng) — eye; 眼镜 (yǎn jìng) — glasses; 眼泪 (yǎn lèi) — tears.