眼角 (yǎn jiǎ) — corner of the eye (inner or outer) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

corner of the eye (inner or outer)

Examples

眼角。
Tā xiào de shí hou yǎn jiǎ wēi wēi shàng qiào.
When she smiles, the corners of her eyes slightly lift.
眼角。
Yī shēng zǐ xì jiǎn chá le tā de yǎn jiǎ.
The doctor carefully examined the corners of his eyes.
眼角。
Tā de yǎn jiǎ liú xià le lèi shuǐ.
Tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

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.

眼角 combines 眼, eye, with 角, corner, to name the corner of 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

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn眼yǎn

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 角 is a picture of a horn.

Appears in

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