Usage patterns 〈 人ひと〉 〉 に 眼差まなざ しを 向む ける to direct one's gaze/look at someone
He directed a gentle gaze at her.
〈 形容詞けいようし 〉 眼差しでまなざしで 〈 人ひと 〉 を見るをみる to look at someone with a [certain] expression in one's eyes
The mother looked at her child with a warm gaze.
〈 事こと〉 〉 に 眼差まなざ しを 注そそ ぐ to fix one's gaze intently on something
She fixed her gaze on the distant scenery.
眼差まなざ しが 〈 形容詞けいようし〉 〉 one's gaze/expression is [certain quality]
Kanji 差 distinction, difference, variation 指 finger, point to, indicate Related words 視線 is the neutral, physical term for the direction one's eyes are pointed, while 眼差し conveys the emotional or expressive quality of that gaze.
目つき describes the look in someone's eyes, often with a sharp or critical impression, whereas 眼差し is softer and more poetic in tone.
眼差し is the standard, far more common spelling for the 'look/gaze' sense, while 目差し is a rarer variant reading of the same word.
Written forms 眼差まなざ し Usage 45%
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
まなざし Usage 54%
目差まなざ し Usage 1%
Variant using the simpler 目 kanji; less common but still encountered.
目差まなざし Usage <1%
Abbreviated variant; rarely used.
眼指まなざし
Uncommon variant with 指 ; may be considered ateji-like.
Etymology Formed from まな , an old bound form meaning “eye,” and 差し , from 差す , “to direct”; it denotes the direction or expression of the eyes.
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