眼圈 (yǎn juān) — eye socket; rim of the eye

Definition

noun

eye socketrim of the eye

Measure word · 双

，眼圈。
Tā kū le yì zhěng yè, yǎn juān dōu zhǒng le.
She cried all night, and her eye sockets are swollen.
？眼圈。
Nǐ zuó wǎn méi shuì hǎo ma? yǎn juān hěn hēi.
Did you not sleep well last night? You have dark circles under your eyes.
，眼圈。
Tā bèi dǎ le yì quán, yǎn juān zhōu wéi qīng le yí piàn.
He was punched, and the area around his eye socket turned black and blue.

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.

眼 names the eye, and 圈 names the surrounding ring, giving the rim around the eye.

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.

目艮眼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

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

囗卷圈

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéi

Sound part声符shēngfú

卷

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

圈 is made of the outer 囗, an enclosure shape, and the inner 卷, which gives the sound.

Appears in