视 meaning and stroke order
To look at, to inspect, to observe, to regard
How to write 视, stroke by stroke
8 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 视
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary, or bound form) to look at
- variant of 視|视[shi4]
- variant of 示[shi4]
- old variant of 視|视[shi4]
How 视 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. See.
见 gives the meaning and 礻 hints at the sound.
Radical: 见 (to see), shared by 14 characters on this site.
How to remember 视
视 is made of 礻 on the left, which gives the sound (it comes from 示 shì), and 见 (jiàn, to see) on the right, which gives the meaning. Think of it as "shì + see": a word about looking.
视 is rarely used alone in modern speech. It appears mostly inside words like 电视 (diànshì, TV), 视频 (shìpín, video), 重视 (zhòngshì, to value) and 忽视 (hūshì, to ignore). Example: 我晚上看电视。(Wǒ wǎnshang kàn diànshì.) I watch TV in the evening.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side as 衤 (the clothing radical, with an extra stroke) instead of 礻. Also, 视 is fourth tone shì, so do not confuse it with 是 or 事, which share the same sound but not the meaning.
Common words with 视
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 电视 | diànshì | television; TV | HSK 1 |
| 电视机 | diànshìjī | television set | HSK 1 |
| 重视 | zhòngshì | to attach importance to sth; to value | HSK 2 |
| 电视台 | diànshìtái | television station | HSK 3 |
| 影视 | yǐngshì | movies and television | HSK 3 |
| 电视剧 | diànshìjù | TV series; TV drama | HSK 3 |
| 忽视 | hūshì | to neglect; to overlook; to disregard; to ignore | HSK 4 |
| 视频 | shìpín | video | HSK 5 |
| 视为 | shìwéi | to view as; to see as | HSK 5 |
| 注视 | zhùshì | to look attentively at; to closely watch; to gaze at | HSK 5 |
| 近视 | jìnshì | myopic; nearsighted; (fig.) shortsighted | HSK 6 |
| 监视 | jiānshì | to monitor; to keep a close watch over | HSK 7-9 |
| 视线 | shìxiàn | line of sight | HSK 7-9 |
| 视野 | shìyě | field of view; (fig.) outlook; perspective | HSK 7-9 |
视 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 视
How many strokes are in 视?
视 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 视 mean?
视 (shì) means to look at, to inspect, to observe, to regard. A common word with it is 电视 (diànshì), meaning "television; TV".
How do you pronounce 视?
视 is pronounced shì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 视?
The radical of 视 is 见, which carries the idea of "to see". Dictionaries list 视 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 视?
The traditional form of 视 is 眎, 眡 and 視. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 视 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 视 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 视 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 视 and 看?
看 (kàn) is the everyday verb for to look or watch. 视 is more formal and is used mostly in compound words, so you say 看电视, not 视电视.
How do you say video call in Chinese?
A video call is 视频通话 (shìpín tōnghuà), and people often just say 视频 as a verb: 我们视频吧 (Wǒmen shìpín ba), let's video chat.