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Kotomora

眽

to gaze, to ogle, to look at

Strokes11

Readings

On'yomi

  • バク
  • ミャク
  • ベキ

Kun'yomi

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Meaning

眽 centers on looking intently at something, often with a sense of staring or ogling. The given meanings all involve a focused, sometimes intense, visual attention.

Study

Etymology

眽 combines 目 (eye) with a phonetic component that is visually similar to 永. The character likely originated as a phono-semantic compound where the right side contributed the sound and the eye radical indicated looking.

Meaning mnemonic

The eye 目 on the left is fixed on something, while the right side looks like a person leaning forward with intense focus. Together, 眽 means to gaze or stare intently.

Reading mnemonic

For バク, imagine a person staring so hard they back into a wall: back -> バク, and their eyes are locked in a gaze.