瞰 meaning and stroke order
To watch, to spy on; to overlook, to look down on
How to write 瞰, stroke by stroke
16 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 瞰
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to look down from a height
- to spy on sth
- variant of 瞰[kan4]
How 瞰 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Eye.
目 gives the meaning and 敢 hints at the sound.
Radical: 目 (eye), shared by 100 characters on this site.
How to remember 瞰
瞰 is an eye 目 (mù) beside 敢 (gǎn, to dare). Picture someone daring enough to stand at the edge of a cliff and let their eye look straight down.
瞰 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. It shows up in written or literary words about viewing from above, most often 俯瞰 (fǔkàn). Example: 从山顶俯瞰整个城市。(Cóng shāndǐng fǔkàn zhěnggè chéngshì.) From the mountaintop you can look down over the whole city.
Common mistake: Learners often write the everyday 看 (kàn) when they mean 俯瞰, since both are pronounced kàn. Use 看 for ordinary looking, and keep 瞰 for the specific idea of looking down from a height.
Common words with 瞰
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 俯瞰 | fǔkàn | to look down at (from a high vantage point) |
瞰 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 瞰
How many strokes are in 瞰?
瞰 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 瞰 mean?
瞰 (kàn) means to watch, to spy on; to overlook, to look down on. A common word with it is 俯瞰 (fǔkàn), meaning "to look down at (from a high vantage point)".
How do you pronounce 瞰?
瞰 is pronounced kàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 瞰?
The radical of 瞰 is 目, which carries the idea of "eye". Dictionaries list 瞰 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 瞰?
The traditional form of 瞰 is 矙. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 瞰 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 瞰 pronounced the same as 看?
Yes, both are kàn in the fourth tone. The difference is in meaning and register. 看 is everyday looking, while 瞰 is formal and means looking down from above.
What other words use 瞰 besides 俯瞰?
俯瞰 is by far the most common. You may also see 鸟瞰 (niǎokàn), a bird's-eye view, as in 鸟瞰图 (niǎokàntú), an aerial view map.