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偷看 (tōu kàn) — to peek, to steal a glance

Definition

A verb meaning to look secretly — 'peek, steal a glance'. Different from 看 (plain 'look'): the 偷 prefix flags that the looking is furtive or unauthorized, often at something private (a phone, a person).

verb
to peekto steal a glance

Examples

  • 偷看。
    Tā tōu kàn le wǒ de shǒu jī.
    He peeked at my phone.
  • 偷看。
    Wǒ tōu kàn dào tā zài fáng jiān lǐ kū.
    I peeked and saw her crying in the room.
  • 偷看。
    Tā duì tā tōu kàn le yì yǎn.
    She stole a glance at him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

偷tōusecretly
看kànlook

偷 secretly plus 看 look gives peeking or stealing a glance.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú偷tōu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 亻, a standing person, points to the idea of someone doing the act, while the right part 俞 gives the character its sound.

Open 偷 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →
Appears in
Senses

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