猫眼 (māo yǎn) — peephole, spyhole (in a door) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

猫眼 (māoyǎn) literally means 'cat's eye' but in everyday Chinese it means the peephole in a door — the small lens that lets you see who is outside before opening. The reading here is māo+yǎn as a set compound, not the standalone noun māo ('cat').

noun

peepholespyhole (in a door)

Measure word · 个

Examples

猫眼。
Qǐng cóng māo yǎn kàn yi kàn shì shuí zài mén wài.
Please look through the peephole to see who is at the door.
猫眼，。
Zhè ge māo yǎn tài dī le, wǒ kàn bú jiàn.
This peephole is too low, I can't see.
猫眼。
Nǐ zuì hǎo huàn yí gè gèng qīng chǔ de māo yǎn.
You'd better replace it with a clearer peephole.

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.

猫, cat, and 眼, eye, combine as a cat's eye, naming a door peephole.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

苗

苗miáo猫māo

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

猫 puts 犬 beside 苗; 犬 marks the animal sense, and 苗 gives the sound.

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.

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